CUPGRA is a partner in the recently announced collaborative training partnership award programme for Sustainable Agricultural Innovation (CTP-SAI), ensuring young scientists are ‘business aware’ and opening up opportunities for careers across industry.
Running from 2022 to 2028, the £3.6 million UKRI-BBSRC-funded postgraduate training programme will create a network in which businesses can explore and co-design research and innovation programmes and will train 30 PhD students. CUPGRA is part of this industry-wide consortium, stretching across the food and farming crop supply chain. It is led by producer organisation G’s Growers and includes leading UK and international agri-food businesses, research organisations and charitable organisations representing the collective needs of farmers and practitioners.
CTP-SAI Consortium
Lead partner managing CTP-SAI: Gs Growers
Full commercial partners: Sainsburys, PepsiCo, Syngenta, Solynta and James Hutton Ltd
Farmer representative partners: PGRO (Processors and Growers Research Organisation), CUPGRA (Cambridge University Potato Growers Research Association) and TMAF (The Morley Agricultural Foundation)
Academic partners: NIAB & University of Cambridge (Crop Science Centre), JHI (James Hutton Institute)
Associate partners: University of Nottingham, University of Warwick, University of Dundee, Harper Adams University, Cranfield University, University of Leicester and Newcastle University
Training provider : MDS (Management Development Services)
The CTP-SAI aims to address the challenge of businesses needing access to postgraduates with skills in research and innovation in order to adapt to the enormous challenges that climate change, land use change and biodiversity loss pose. They also need to ensure that the supply chain products and processes pass the test of responsible, sustainable innovation that is core to each businesses value set and corporate social responsibilities.
The training programme will ensure that, regardless of the future career path CTP students choose, they will have a thorough understanding of how businesses work and how, as scientists, to positively engage in bringing science-led solutions to market.
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