Through postgraduate doctoral programmes such as a PhDs, companies can work alongside the University in industry funded studentships to develop research outcomes and new research specialists are trained. The University has a flexible approach to matching models of funding and delivery with the needs of the company and the student. The aim of these projects is to meet the research need of the company whilst delivering high quality education to our students to support their learning and development.
Research Benefits
Working collaboratively through a research student can provide a simple way to begin building strategic research relationships and trialling research which is new or divergent to an organisation. The overall risk to the company as a funder remains low as the student doesn’t increase the staff numbers or commit the company to longer term engagements, but does provide a way to test research ideas and theories through the student being supervised by an experienced research professional.
Research Costs and Models
Dependent on the research being carried out students will work differently in terms of location and the equipment they use. To deliver on their research milestones students will need to regularly work within the University research environment and with their research supervisory team.
With a collaborative research project it is important for the partners, and particularly any external funders, to have regular communication with the research student and supervisory team to ensure that the project is progressing in line with expectations. It is recommended that partners meet in person or virtually a minimum of once per quarter.
The cost is made up of four core components:
University Fees
Student fees are dependent on whether the student is studying fulltime or part-time. In addition, classroom only and practical research degrees incur different charges.
Stipends
Stipends are paid to students to cover their living costs. The national minimum stipends are agreed each year by all the research councils.
Travel
For the majority of research projects it is important to travel to discuss outcomes with collaborators and collate information. The extent of travel varies for each project and as such will be discussed for each project.
In-Kind Contributions
Access to equipment, supervision and support provided by Coventry University or the funding organisation.
Supported models for collaboration
Coventry University is keen to pursue collaborative research which benefits industry and wider society. As such the University will match support with external companies to fund core research benefitting both organisations.
Examples of this type of support would be:
- Matching in-kind contributions from the company by providing in-kind contributions for supervision.
- Identifying opportunities to source funding for student stipends.
- Matching student fees and bursary costs with the company.
- Exploring the use of facilities and equipment at the University and company premises to make best use of the research time and resources available.
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