Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2024). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas. The EPSRC CDT in Chemical Synthesis for a Healthy Planet (CSHP CDT) is a four-year course, run jointly with the University of York, providing training in contemporary sustainable organic synthesis, and its application to challenges in medicine, agrochemistry, and materials. The EPSRC CDT in Chemical Synthesis for a Healthy Planet (CSHP CDT) is based in the Departments of Chemistry at the University of Oxford and the University of York. The course was designed in collaboration with eight international chemical companies, including representation from the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and fine-chemical sectors. Ten award winning SMEs are also involved in the course. The CSHP CDT aims to train the next generation of synthetic chemists, equipping them with a 'Systems Chemistry' mindset and the skills needed to transform the practise and application of chemical synthesis. The course uses a cohort model (approximately 16 students per year). The CDT begins with a four-month taught course, based predominantly in Oxford, which will equip students with the contemporary tools and knowledge in sustainable chemical innovation that will be needed for substantive research projects. Training modules, alongside team-building challenges and personal development activities will develop a 'Systems Chemistry' mindset, providing training to appreciate the links between synthetic chemistry and the physical, ecological and human systems of the planet, nurturing the capacity to think and work across discipline boundaries. The entire cohort will spend two weeks at the Green Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York, to receive bespoke expert training in 'Sustainability in Synthesis'. At the conclusion of the 16-week taught course, the students join the research groups for their substantive projects, which they will have chosen prior to the start of their course. These can focus on any of the three global challenges of Human Health, Food Security, and Energy and Materials, and must embed the 'Systems Chemistry' principles developed during the taught course. All students will also attend a two-week course on the concepts of 'Sustainability in Synthesis' at the University of York. To enable significant and long term research goals to be tackled, research projects will be clustered into four 'Project Fields': Reaction Innovation; Rethinking & Upcycling Feedstocks, Solvents and Waste; Intersecting with Pharma/Agrochemistry; Intersecting with Organic Materials. During all four years of the course students also receive a tailored programme designed to broaden their research and professional skills, including an industrial placement opportunity.