Doctoral community

N8 AgriFood engages with agrifood doctoral students from across the N8 universities. This involves students from multiple disciplines working on different aspects of global food systems.

We aim to complement the training received through formal doctoral training programmes and centres by:

Increasing our students’ knowledge of global food systems.
Developing their understanding of the complexities of food security challenges.
Encouraging appreciation of the interdisciplinary work needed to solve these challenges.
Developing our students’ understanding of how research can lead to social and economic impact.

We also aim to increase interaction between doctoral students and agrifood stakeholders including industry, government, small to medium businesses, non-governmental organisations and charities.

N8 AgriFood Doctoral Seminar Series

Here at N8 AgriFood, we offer PhD students the opportunity to take part in a free Doctoral Training Seminar Series. Each of the N8 universities committed to hosting a workshop that focuses on different themes within food systems research.

These seminars are open to any PhD student from an N8 university working on an agrifood topic. The events have rotated around the N8 universities and have given PhD students the opportunity to learn, as well as network with students from different universities and other disciplines, agrifood researchers and organisations working in the agrifood sector.

To date, we have held seven of the seminars:

Celebrating World Food Day: Sustainable food systems and research impact, University of York
Consumer perspectives on food fraud: Implications for the food industry, Newcastle University
Precision agriculture, remote sensing and autonomous robotics for agriculture and food, University of Manchester
Scientific publishing, Durham University
Walking the supply chain, University of Liverpool
Nutrient cycling in food systems, Lancaster University
Engaging with industry, University of Leeds

The final seminar will focus on achieving policy impact and be held at the University of Sheffield. It was unfortunately delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is due to be rescheduled for late 2020.

In addition, we plan to have a second series of Doctoral Training Seminars and details will be added to our events section when they are available.

Food systems training

N8 AgriFood has also run bespoke food systems training events for students. These tailored events were developed in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Food Systems Teaching and Learning Programme (IFSTAL).

They introduced participants to the concepts, theories and methods of a food systems approach, as well as trained researchers in food systems analysis and approaches.

They focused on viewing food production, supply and consumption as a complex system in order to deliver enhanced insight and predict the most impactful interventions, as well as increase resilience and sustainability.

The first event was an international Food Systems Summer School, bringing together UK, Ghanaian and Ugandan doctoral researchers and early career food professionals. The second was a two-day event at the University of York aimed at PhD students and early career researchers.

Doctoral training

Agrifood related research is a part of other Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTPs) and Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) across the N8 universities.

These include:

BBSRC Newcastle-Liverpool-Durham Doctoral Training Partnership
BBSRC White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership in Mechanistic Biology and its Strategic Application
Panorama NERC Doctoral Training Partnership
NERC Manchester and Liverpool Doctoral Training Partnership – Understanding the Earth, Atmosphere and Ocean
NERC IAPETUS Doctoral Training Programme
NERC Doctoral Training Programme – Adapting to Challenges of a Changing Environment (ACCE)
NERC/BBSRC Soils Training and Research Studentships (STARS)
ESRC Data Analytics and Society Centre for Doctoral Training
ESRC North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership
ESRC Doctoral Training in Social Sciences in the North East and Northern Ireland
ESRC White Rose Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership