We welcome collaborations with business, industry and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and would like to hear from potential new partners.
Our world-class plant science research encompasses the breadth of plant and microbial biology, from the molecular to the ecological with applications in food production, renewable energies, materials, synthetic biology, ecology and more. Our cutting-edge scientific research leads to breakthroughs in our understanding of natural and cultivated plant systems and addresses questions across disciplines and scales, helping to support the growing bioeconomy, sustainable technologies, food security and conservation.
We work to achieve five goals:
- Enhancing production of plant derived products
- Reducing agricultural inputs
- Cutting losses from pests and pathogens
- Enabling resilience to environmental change
- Delivering sustainable bio-diverse landscapes
Partnership opportunities and benefits
We are keen to collaborate with business, industry and NGO partners through:
Developing research relationships
- We would be interested in hearing about your research priorities, what you are looking for from a collaborator, and the routes to collaboration you might be interested in, such as iCASE studentships, Innovate UK funding opportunities (including Knowledge Transfer Partnerships), and BBSRC LINK grants
- If you have any projects you would be looking to find collaborators for, please let us know and we can help to facilitate those relationships with our researchers
Internships
- We want to promote opportunities for our students to gain an insight into the breadth of work across plant biology, working with you to address real-world challenges and experience a different working culture
- Details of both existing summer internship schemes, and bespoke projects that can be developed for our students, could be advertised
- You could also host a student as part of the Professional Internships for PhD Students (PIPS) scheme; if you have any queries or would like to discuss this further, please contact Sandra Di Eleonora, the School of Biological Sciences BBSRC DTP Coordinator
Recruitment opportunities
- The Department of Plant Sciences' annual careers expo, held in the Autumn, is an excellent opportunity to meet, mingle, and discuss career opportunities with our students and postdocs
- There are also opportunities for you to raise the profile of your organisation and meet our students at the careers fairs organised by the Careers Service:
Life Sciences Careers Fair, 3-6pm Tuesday 29 October 2024
- Welcomes organisations working across plant science and agriculture, in addition to those in the biomedical field and healthcare, and organisations who provide services to life science-based firms.
- This event is currently open for employers to register to attend.
The Green Careers Festival, 1-5pm Monday 27 January 2025
- Employer registration for this event will be opening soon, but in the meantime please contact Sally Cox.
We are also happy to discuss other opportunities you have in mind. These might include:
Industry funded PhDs
- Propose PhD research projects to inspire our students, who can provide access to cutting-edge research results and help you to solve real-world problems
- Please contact the Postgraduate Administrator if you have an enquiry relating to studentships
Postdoctoral research projects
- Organisations can benefit from the input of experienced researchers
Tailored visits
- Get to know us; we can arrange a meeting with our academics to discuss industry and research challenges of mutual interest
Industrial seminars
- A chance to enthuse students with stories of the challenges being faced in the real world
Consultancy
- This may encompass individual academics giving advice as consultants, or providing targeted executive development or education
Contact us
If you are interested in finding out more about how your organisation can work together with the Department of Plant Sciences, please contact the Knowledge Translation and Exchange Manager, Vicki Marshall.
You can also sign up to our bi-annual industry newsletter, in which we will share details of upcoming events you might be interested in participating in (such as career expos) and our latest research; please register below.