There are now  64 PhD students completing research related to forested landscapes, 19 of which are working on research directly linked to the BIFoR FACE facility.  Details of the projects underway are available on our Doctoral Research page. 

BIFoR advertise doctoral research opportunities through the year. Opportunities are also listed on the University of Birmingham Doctoral ReSEARCHer Database and FindAPhD.  Did you know there is now a new "Forestry" filter? 

CENTA

Opportunities are advertised annually through the Central England NERC Training Alliance (CENTA). CENTA is a consortium of Universities and research institutes that are working together to provide excellence in doctoral research training. CENTA is funded by The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).  

MIBTP 

Opportunities are advertised annually through the Midlands Integrative Biosciences Training Partnership Doctoral Programme (MIBTP).  MIBTP is a consortium between Universities of Aston, Birmingham, Harper Adams, Leicester and Warwick. Studentships are focussed in the research areas of Sustainable Agriculture and Food, Understanding the Rules of Life, Renewable Resources and Clean Growth and Integrated Understanding of Health. MIBTP is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). 

Forest Edge Doctoral Scholarship Programme

The Forest Edge Doctoral Scholarship Programme offered 18 Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships at the University of Birmingham.  This project was funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

This Scholarship Programme is no longer available, however our Forest Edge Training Programme continues and anyone new to the University who is completing research related to trees, woodlands and forests has the opportunity to join our training sessions.  Students choosing to become involved in the Forest Edge Training Programme benefit from engaging with an interdisciplinary group of students for knowledge sharing and training. 

Dual Award with University of Western Sydney

BIFoR has opportunities for Dual Award PhDs with the University of Western Sydney.  Academic staff from BIFoR and University of Western Sydney work together to develop projects and identify potential supervisors from each institution.  Students can split their research between BIFoR FACE and EucFACE.

Potential students interested in our research themes may like to consider some of the taught masters courses at the University of Birmingham, listed below.

More and more masters students are choosing to complete their dissertation topic with data from / samples from the BIFoR FACE Facility.  For example, Sam Walrond, took the opportunity to work alongside Angeliki Kourmouli and Dr Rebecca Bartlett to look at "Soil Water Cation Chemistry Under Elevated CO₂ Conditions at BIFoR FACE" and Nina Karvik looked at 'Changes in the leaf chemistry of Oak trees under elevated CO₂ conditions at BIFoR FACE.'

Some of the students enrolled in the following courses are volunteering with BIFoR and/or using the BIFoR FACE facility for their end of year project.

MSc in Applied Meteorology and Climatology
MSc in Environmental Health
PG Dip/ MSc in Air Pollution Management and Control
MSc in River Environments and their Management
MSc Toxicology
MRes Molecular Mechanistic Toxicology

More and more undergraduate students are choosing to complete their dissertation topic with data from / samples from the BIFoR FACE Facility.  This could be both primary and secondary data.  For example, Sam Walrond, took the opportunity to work alongside Dr Angeliki Kourmouli and Dr Rebecca Bartlett to look at "Soil Water Cation Chemistry Under Elevated CO₂ Conditions at BIFoR FACE" and Nina Karvik looked at 'Changes in the leaf chemistry of Oak trees under elevated CO₂ conditions at BIFoR FACE.'

Students can also volunteer with BIFoR.  This has proven popular for many students and we have logged over 4,000 hours of volunteering! Students also receive a reference and 'service awards' from BIFoR for their time. We have some lovely examples of students that have volunteered with us, then found part-time work during their degree with us and/or graduate and come and work with us afterwards. 

Further great teaching resources linked to forests are available on the Forest Education Network England Resource Hub.

Interactive talk, in person or online, 1 hour, suitable for adults 16+

During this interactive talk, we invite participants to find out more about our research at BIFoR FACE. Audience members will learn how we are able to raise carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in parts of the woodland. We will follow the journey of a CO₂ molecule through the FACE facility from right up in the tree canopy to one meter below ground. Along the way, we will stop and discover the instruments that are needed to make the measurements required for our giant climate change experiment. We will introduce you to members of the wider BIFoR team, including the technicians and academic staff working within our forest laboratory. Participants will learn what our results show so far and what that could mean when we feed these results into global climate change models used to predict future climates.

This interactive talk is ideal for specialist audiences who would like a detailed overview of our research, methods and recent results, with plenty of time for questions along the way. 

Interactive talk, online only, duration 1 hour, suitable for adults 16+

During this immersive online talk, we invite participants to explore what life is like inside our climate change experiment. An engineering feat, the BIFoR FACE facility features six rings of steel masts that have been inserted into a mature oak woodland. We will guide you through a virtual tour of the facility, developed by our colleagues at the Higher Education Futures Institute (HEFI). Audience members will get a sense of the scale of the site by taking a virtual walk around our forest lab. Along the way we will hear from members of the wider BIFoR team, including site technicians and academic staff. The virtual tour will enable participants to take a detailed look at the equipment being used to take measurements and learn more about the research taking place.

This interactive talk is ideal for specialist audiences who would like a detailed overview of how the BIFoR facility works, with plenty of time for questions along the way. 

Hands-on activity, in person only, duration 1.5 hours, suitable for adults 16+ 

During this hands-on activity, we invite participants to explore the structures at our research woodland. An engineering marvel, the BIFoR FACE facility features six rings of steel masts, four Met Towers and one Flux Tower that have been inserted into a mature oak woodland. We will give you a brief overview of these important engineering features, as well as introduce you to key members of the BIFoR site team. You will then be tasked to work in small groups to build your own flux tower, this time using spaghetti and marshmallows!*

 

This hands-on activity is ideal for specialist and non-specialist audiences who would like a brief overview of the structures at BIFoR FACE and a team building exercise, with plenty of time for questions along the way.  

*All our marshmallows are gelatine free! 

Hands-on activity, in person only, duration 1.5 hours, suitable for adults 16+

During this immersive activity, we invite audience members to join us on a virtual tour of the woodland. Working in pairs or small groups you will find out more about the research that is happening in our forest laboratory. Participants will work together to uncover clues and solve puzzles, using virtual reality headsets and/ or touch screen devices. By completing our ‘escape-room style activities’ you will gain a sense of the scale of the BIFoR FACE site, a better understanding of the measurements we are taking and a deeper awareness of the impact of climate change on our woodlands and forests.

 

This hands-on activity is ideal for specialist and non-specialist audiences who would like a brief overview of the research happening at BIFoR FACE, with plenty of time for questions along the way.