The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Advanced Composites for Innovation and Science (ACCIS CDT) was established in 2009 following a £7.1 million award from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The CDT was renewed in 2014 with £4.9 million of funding, securing its future until 2022.

The CDT is embedded within the Bristol Composites Institute, a leading research centre for composites research and education with a global reputation for excellence. 

The CDT’s vision is to develop the next generation of technical leaders in advanced composites by stimulating adventurous interdisciplinary research, which bridges the length scales, connects to and interfaces between the disciplines of engineering, chemistry, physics and life sciences, and bestows enhanced and added functionality to composite materials. The CDT’s four-year multidisciplinary PhD programme in Advanced Composites comprises a one-year innovative taught component and a three-year research project, and is underpinned by a programme of skills training and professional development.

The CDT benefits from strong industrial partnerships with companies across a range of industrial sectors, such as aerospace, automotive, marine, energy generation, civil infrastructure and biomedicine. The CDT also collaborates with other academic institutions and research centres locally, nationally and internationally.

The CDT works closely with its students and industrial partners to create an environment for its students to flourish and achieve their full potential. Further details of the students’ achievements can be found in the ‘Research outputs’ and ‘Awards and activities’ sections above. The research outputs, awards and activities of the academic staff affiliated with the CDT can be found in the Bristol Composites Institute group.