The first PhD programmes to be supervised, assessed and awarded by Imperial College London jointly with other institutions will accept their first cohort of students in August 2010.
The joint qualifications are offered in partnership with the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, and the University of Hong Kong (HKU). They will give students the opportunity to split their time equally between London and Singapore or Hong Kong, encouraging international mobility and preparing early-career researchers for global careers.
To be accepted onto the programmes students will need to meet the requirements of both of the partner universities, and to be successful in their PhD they will need to meet the assessment criteria of both, including a joint viva at the end of the course. The four-year programmes with NUS and HKU are offered across all subjects at Imperial, while the NTU partnership focuses initially on the fields of bioengineering and chemical engineering, with the potential for opportunities in other subjects to follow in future years.
Mary Ritter, Pro Rector, International Affairs at Imperial College London, says students on the courses will have to meet the demands of not just one university, but two. “They will also have the chance to become part of a network of leading researchers in two world centres of scientific excellence, launching them into a globe-spanning career.”
The joint PhDs will also foster closer research links between Imperial and its partner universities by establishing relationships between research groups. Keith O'Nions, Rector of Imperial College London, says, “If we're really going to tackle major challenges like climate change, sustainable energy and global health, the world needs science to be outward looking and collaborative.”
More information on the new joint PhDs are at:
Imperial-National University of Singapore: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/international/students/internationalopportunities/nationaluniversityofsingapore
Imperial-Hong Kong University: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/international/students/internationalopportunities/hongkonguniversity
Imperial-Nanyang Technological University: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/international/students/internationalopportunities/nanyangtechnologicaluniversity
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