The University of Birmingham is set to play a major role in shaping the next generation of leaders in nuclear technology, following its share of a £45 million UKRI funding award announced today.
As a core partner in two of the six new Doctoral Focal Awards (DFAs) led by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) - with support from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) - the University will help train its share of more than 170 doctoral researchers.
These programmes include:
- Programme for Accelerating Nuclear Development and Applications (PANDA)
- Skills & Training Driving Availability of National Defence Assets – Upskilling for Innovation Driven Impact (STAND‑UP)
Through these initiatives, the University of Birmingham will contribute to developing the highly skilled experts needed to advance the UK’s nuclear capabilities and drive innovation across the sector.
Professor Rachel O’Reilly MBE, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Birmingham, said: “The University of Birmingham’s leadership in advanced nuclear technologies is unparalleled and we run Europe’s oldest nuclear master’s programme which was established in 1956. Now, through the Doctoral Focal Awards, we will expand our leadership in nuclear materials and fuels, and advanced manufacturing for nuclear and digital engineering among our ever growing, globally recognised expertise.”
PANDA: Training nuclear industry ready PhD students
PANDA will be led at Birmingham by Professors Sandy Knowles, UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, Arunodaya Bhattacharya and Paul Norman, playing a key role in delivering PANDA’s research and training, drawing on Birmingham’s internationally recognised strengths in advanced materials for fission, fusion & defence applications, nuclear fuels, waste-forms, reactor physics & engineering, decommissioning technologies, AI, regulatory engagement, safety, qualification, life-time extension and licensing methodologies making it a key contributor to the programme.
The £22.8 million PANDA programme includes £9.1 million from UKRI with extensive industrial co-funding and contributions from universities. It will run from 2026 to 2034 and create four cohorts of highly trained PhD/EngD researchers across the UK, training 80 - 100 students that are nuclear industry ready.
Led by Bangor University, in partnership with the Universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Derby, Manchester, Imperial College London and the UK National Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL), the PANDA programme will develop key expertise required to accelerate development, qualification, licensing, and deployment of advanced fission technologies critical to achieving the UK’s net zero, energy security, and national security goals.
The programme embeds a broad coalition of key industrial partners across the civil, defence, and advanced nuclear sectors, alongside world-leading international partners from the US, France, Australia, and Czechia.
STAND-UP: strengthening UK capability in nuclear engineering
STAND-UP will focus on strengthening the UK’s capability in nuclear engineering, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, and nuclear decommissioning.
Led at Birmingham by Professor David Butler, the MTC Chair in Sustainable Manufacturing, Professor Duc Pham, Dr Andrew Garrick and Dr Natanael Otavio Favero Bolson, the programme will train more than 70 industry-embedded Engineering Doctorate (EngD) researchers, combining advanced academic training with extended placements in industry to address real-world engineering challenges across the lifecycle of nuclear defence assets.
Led by the University of Strathclyde and supported by partner institutions including the Universities of Birmingham, Cumbria, Nottingham, Derby, Surrey, and Lancaster, along with training partners such as the National Physical Laboratory and HMS Sultan, the £22.8 million STAND-UP programme unites a national coalition of universities, specialist training providers, and Catapult innovation centres.
Innovation partners include the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland and the University of Birmingham's long-standing partner, the Manufacturing Technology Centre, which provides access to advanced manufacturing facilities and industry-facing research environments.
The University of Birmingham team will play a pivotal role in advancing the full lifecycle management of nuclear assets by applying their expertise in human robot collaboration, intelligent automation, and smart assembly and disassembly. Their contribution will be strengthened by the creation of a robust suite of analytical tools designed to assess the environmental impact of key activities. These tools will empower stakeholders with data driven insights, enabling smarter, more sustainable, and more confident decision making across the sector.
