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Royal Veterinary College announces new funding to provide world-class training to more students

The RVC will be able to continue to fund postgraduate research students who are looking to tackle the veterinary challenges of the future through novel interdisciplinary approaches

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced new funding for the next five years to support collaborative PhD training via the London Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programme (LIDo), in the form of a new Doctoral Landscape Award. As a prominent partner of the LIDo, this funding means the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) will be able to continue to provide world-class PhD training to graduate students, including bioscience and veterinary graduates, continuing this successful collaborative partnership, spanning 13 years to date.

In total, the UKRI has awarded 21 partnerships £500 million to continue championing doctoral-level research training. The LIDo’s new Doctoral Landscape Award will form part of this and support 26 studentships each year, funding PhDs that combine bioscience with artificial intelligence and advanced computation, equipping the next generation of bioscientists for a digitally augmented future.

This investment allows the RVC and other LIDo partners to train over 200 students (with the funding from UKRI, supplemented by LIDo institutions and their non-academic partners) to tackle important, complex problems in bioscience and biotechnology by integrating experimental techniques with advanced computational methods including artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, and modelling.

LIDo is now accepting applications for the PhD studentships starting in Autumn 2025. To ensure that all talented and qualified students can access such opportunities regardless of socio-economic or demographic background, LIDo has initiated new collaborations with widening participation organisations including Leading Routes, In2ScienceUK, The Cowrie Scholarship Foundation, and Martingale Foundation.

Alongside the RVC, LIDo comprises seven other London universities including University College London (the lead institution for the programme); King’s College London; Queen Mary University of London; Birkbeck, University of London; the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; Royal Holloway, University of London; and University of Greenwich’s Natural Resources Institute.

LIDo also works closely with external collaborators across multiple sectors, including Unilever, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the Natural History Museum, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Food Standards Agency, Discovery Park, and the Alan Turing Institute.

Since 2012, LIDo has graduated over 370 alumni who are employed across diverse sectors including industry, academia, government, and charities.

Ken Smith, head of the graduate school and professor of companion animal pathology at the RVC, said: “The continued role of the RVC as a university partner in LIDo is key to building a vibrant and supportive community of postgraduate research students who are able to tackle the challenges of the future through novel interdisciplinary approaches, as well as consolidating professional networks between academics at the partnered universities across London and beyond.”

Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, UKRI chief executive, said: “UKRI’s investments in doctoral training are pivotal for the UK’s research and innovation endeavour. The awards provide funding for universities across the UK to nurture a cadre of creative, talented people to develop their skills and knowledge, to build partnerships and networks, and to pursue the discoveries that will transform tomorrow, with diverse benefits for society and economic growth.”

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