SAIC announces PhD programme
A NEW PhD programme worth more than £500,000 was announced by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) during Aquaculture UK in Aviemore on May 23.
For the first time, SAIC will fund four PhD positions directly, each tackling an area of priority research for the industry.
The programme is part of a skills initiative closely allied with industry requirements. Three of the PhD projects will focus on fish health issues and one addresses the needs of mussel farmers, creating collaborative partnerships between academia and industry.
Heather Jones, CEO of SAIC, said at the launch of the scheme: ‘We would like to see a greater critical mass of talented, up and coming young scientists coming out of Scottish universities, who have got commercial nous, who have been exposed to working with industry from the very beginning of their PhDs.’
SAIC is putting in £180,000 to support the new PhD programme, which with matched industry funding, will be worth over £500,000.
Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said: ‘Increasing the supply of talented scientists with an understanding of the commercial realities of farming fish and shellfish in Scotland was one of our key aims in setting up SAIC.
‘Scotland needs to grow, develop and retain a talented workforce skilled in the science, biology and applied research that these four projects represent.
‘I am delighted that four new PhD students will embark on industry relevant research to help improve production capacity and I wish them every success.’
The announcement took place during the SAIC hosted Aquavation Sessions seminar at Aquaculture UK.
Each of the four PhD focuses on an area of research with the capacity to progress the sustainable growth of Scottish aquaculture:
• Dynamic spatial modelling and forecasting of sea lice abundances. Partners: the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) and Marine Harvest;
• Photoperiod and immune function: how critical lifecycle events in salmon impact on disease response and post-smolt performance. Partners: the University of
Aberdeen and Scottish Sea Farms;
• Environmental DNA for low cost monitoring of disease in salmonid aquaculture. Partners: University of Glasgow, Marine Harvest, Scottish Sea Farms and Bioclavis;
• Spat mortality in farmed Scottish blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). Partners: University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture and Fassfern Mussels, with additional funding from the Fishmongers’ Company.