Launch of €3.1 million Yeastdoc Research Programme

22 Sep 2017

A new programme was launched in University College Cork yesterday which aims to train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative researchers. The project, YEASTDOC, has received approximately €3.1 million in funding from the European Union under the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie ITN call, which is part of the Horizon 2020 framework. The pioneering research conducted in the YEASTDOC programme will result in new flavours and characteristics for beer and wine, and in high-value chemicals being produced in yeast using clean high-tech processes.

The YEASTDOC programme will train researchers enabling them to move beyond academia into successful careers in a range of sectors. Industry partners include large multinationals such as Heineken and Pernod-Richard, as well as research-focused SMEs. 

The industry partners have been integral in developing the research programmes that the students will pursue and they will be involved in supervising students and mentoring them in their career development plans.

Within the project, 6 universities and 9 companies from 8 European countries have joined together to train 12 PhD students in the area of biotechnology. Each student will spend a significant length of time at two universities and will work towards being awarded a joint PhD from both institutions. The students will also spend a minimum of four months completing a work placement with an industry partner. 

This is the first time UCC is coordinating this type of European Joint Doctoral (EJD) programme and the coodinator, Dr John Morrissey (School of Microbiology) hopes that it will form the basis for a sustainable PhD programme on the theme of microbial biotechnology.