QUADRAT DTP projects are a mixture of CASE and non-CASE projects. A CASE Studentship is a project that has been developed and will be delivered by the host University in collaboration with a non-academic partner from the private, public and third/civil sectors. CASE studentships tend to stem from real-life issues encountered by that particular organisation, a project will be designed to tackle a specific problem. As such, all collaborators gain from the research output of the studentship.
CASE studentships provide PhD students with enhanced training opportunities by ensuring they spend between 3 and 18 months, in total, with their CASE partner in a workplace outside the academic environment. This will usually be in the form of regular meetings, specialist training and an internship.
The role of CASE partner contacts will vary from a formal supervisory role, an advisory role or provision of facilities, expertise, training and data collection. CASE partners will have a vested interest in the scientific outputs of the project.
Not every project is suited to being a CASE studentship however we aim for a minimum of 25% of our studentships to be CASE supported over the lifetime of the DTP.
| Organisation | CASE / non-CASE | NERC Classification |
| Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI) | CASE eligible | Public sector research establishment |
| Environment Agency (EA) | CASE eligible | Public sector research establishment |
| Forest Research | CASE eligible | Public sector research establishment |
| Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) | CASE eligible | Public sector research establishment |
| Marine Scotland Science (MSS) | CASE eligible | Public sector research establishment |
| Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) | CASE eligible | Public sector research establishment |
| Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) | CASE eligible | Public sector research establishment |
| The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) | CASE eligible | Public sector research establishment |
| 3DEO | CASE eligible | |
| Aberdeen Harbour Board | CASE eligible | |
| Arup | CASE eligible | |
| Aberdeen City Council | CASE eligible | |
| Belfast City Council | CASE eligible | |
| Bioversity International | CASE eligible | |
| Botanæco | CASE eligible | |
| Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust | CASE eligible | |
| CNOOC | CASE eligible | |
| DAERA | CASE eligible | |
| Defra | CASE eligible | |
| Equinor | CASE eligible | |
| Forestry and Land Scotland | CASE eligible | |
| Forestry Commission Scotland | CASE eligible | |
| Forestry England | CASE eligible | |
| Historic Environment Department NI | CASE eligible | |
| Ireland Brownfield Network | CASE eligible | |
| Keenan Recycling Ltd | CASE eligible | |
| Loughs Agency | CASE eligible | |
| Mournes Heritage Trust | CASE eligible | |
| National Biodiversity Data Centre County Waterford, Ireland | CASE eligible | |
| National Collection of Industrial, Food & Marine Bacteria (NCIMB) | CASE eligible | |
| Net Zero Technology Centre | CASE eligible | |
| NFU Scotland | CASE eligible | |
| Northern Government Department for the Economy (DFE) | CASE eligible | |
| Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL) | CASE eligible | |
| Northern Ireland Water | CASE eligible | |
| R&A | CASE eligible | |
| Scottish National Heritage (SNH) | CASE eligible | |
| Scottish Water | CASE eligible | |
| Shetland Amenity Trust | CASE eligible | |
| Shetland UNESCO Global Geopark | CASE eligible | |
| Siskin Group / Siskin Asset Management NA | CASE eligible | |
| South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute (SAERI) | CASE eligible | |
| Syngenta | CASE eligible | |
| Tillhill Forestry | CASE eligible | |
| The C.B. Dennis British Beekeepers’ Research Trust | CASE eligible | |
| The Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR) | CASE eligible | |
| The Crown Estate | CASE eligible | |
| Ulster Farmers Union | CASE eligible | |
| Ulster Wildlife | CASE eligible | |
| Volcanic Basin Petroleum Research | CASE eligible | |
| Wildbyte Technologies Ltd | CASE eligible | |
| Zeiss / CarlZeiss Microscopy | CASE eligible | |
| BGS / BGS Edinburgh | non-CASE | Eligible to receive NERC funding |
| Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) | non-CASE | Independent Research Organisation |
| Geological Survey Northern Ireland (GSNI) | non-CASE | Independent Research Organisation. GSNI is a DFE Office of Government – DFE themselves are CASE eligible. |
| Historic Environment Scotland (HES) | non-CASE | Independent Research Organisation |
| The National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) | non-CASE | Academic institution / Affiliation with UOA |
| James Hutton Institute (JHI) | non-CASE | Independent Research Organisation |
| National Trust / for Scotland / for Northern Ireland | non-CASE | Independent Research Organisation |
| RSPB NI / Scotland | non-CASE | Independent Research Organisation |
| Royal Botanic Gardens – Kew | non-CASE | Independent Research Organisation |
| Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar & Marine Research, Germany | Overseas | See ‘international CASE’ guidance |
| NOAA Fisheries, Alaskan Fisheries Science Centre | Overseas | See ‘international CASE’ guidance |
| Pacific Seafoods.com, USA | Overseas | See ‘international CASE’ guidance |
| The Polish National Oceanography Institute (IOPAN) | Overseas | See ‘international CASE’ guidance |
International CASE partners are eligible provided they are a non-academic organisation, and the DTP can evidence that the CASE criteria has been met and that the placement provides an opportunity for the student to gain skills that could not be provided by a UK-based partner. The student must be fully supported by the DTP and CASE partner throughout the placement period.
CASE partners are required to supplement the studentship, and thus enhance the research project, by:
- The CASE partner(s) must supplement the studentship by a minimum of £1,000 p.a. for the lifetime of the studentship (3.5 years). This payment should be made to the lead Research Organisation to supplement the RTSG and not be paid directly to the student. This minimum requirement can be met collectively by multiple CASE partners.
- The CASE partner(s) must host the student for between three and eighteen months during their PhD, during which time they will undertake work outside the academic environment. This placement does not need to occur in one single continuous period.
- CASE partners are expected to meet the extra expenses incurred by the student when visiting and working within their establishment.
- CASE partners are expected to contribute in cash or in kind towards necessary materials and/or facilities not possessed by the Research Organisation concerned that are required by the student to undertake research integral to their CASE studentship.
More information available here.
The CASE partner may be in the public, private or third sector. Any organisations eligible to receive NERC research funding will not be eligible to act as a CASE partner. This includes research institutes and independent research organisations (IROs) as defined on the UKRI website.
As an exception to the above, Public sector research establishments (PSREs) are eligible to act as CASE partners for NERC studentships. See here for more information.
List of Research Institutes eligible to receive NERC funding in their own right, and therefore NON-CASE eligible. Independent IROs are also NON-CASE eligible.
International CASE partners are eligible provided they are a non-academic organisation, and the DTP can evidence that the CASE criteria has been met and that the placement provides an opportunity for the student to gain skills that could not be provided by a UK-based partner. The student must be fully supported by the DTP and CASE partner throughout the placement period.
