• Home
• PhD studentships
  • FAQ's
  • Recruitment process
  • Funding and eligibility
• Student profiles
• Student Representatives
• Training
• About the centre
• Our partners
• Advisory board
• News and events
• EDI
• Our history
• The team

The CDT in Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We aim to empower applicants to perform at their best by ensuring our application and interview process is fully transparent.

Our process will proceed as follows:

Applications

• The CDT will offer at least one optional, online, Open Day session via Microsoft Teams, normally in November.
• The CDT managers will offer at least one optional, online, application workshop via Microsoft Teams, normally in November or January.
• Dates and registration details for both events will be posted well in advance on our webpage.

Application Form

• Most candidates will apply through our online application form. We will work with candidates with disabilities to provide a suitable alternative format where required.
• The application form includes questions about your highest degree subject and grade, your institution, research experience, work experience.
• As part of the application, we ask you to explain to us why you want to study on the CDT, and why you think you are a good fit for it.  Please make sure you address the specific questions on the form.  Providing specific questions to guide our applicants is aligned with our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) policy goal of reducing barriers to access from under-represented groups.

Shortlisting Process

• All applications are reviewed for eligibility. Eligibility criteria include:
  • 2.1 or first in a primary degree in a relevant subject
  • or
  • A Master’s degree in a relevant subject
  • Relevant subjects are degrees in pharmacy, chemistry, engineering, physics, biology, mathematics, and related sciences.
  • Any applicants who do not meet these minimum requirements will not be taken any further.
  • Eligible applications are anonymised by the CDT managers, who are not involved in the selection process. This means that any information on protected characteristics is removed before applications are provided to the academic panel for shortlisting.
  • The shortlisting panel will be made up of a diverse group of academics.
  • The shortlisting panel reviews applications on the basis of academic ability, research experience and motivation to study at the CDT.  On this basis, it will make a shortlist of candidates for interview.

Invitations to interview

• If you are shortlisted, you will receive an email invitation to interview. This will outline the date and time of your interview, and give you an option to meet student representatives independently of the interview.
• Interviews are expected to take place online via Microsoft Teams.
• Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview with approx. two weeks’ notice.
• Candidates will be asked to specify any adjustments required at the interview arising from a disability or impairment.  Every effort will be made to accommodate requests such as additional time for presentations, a rest between questions, writing questions in the chat function and other adjustments requested by the interview candidates.

Interviews

• Candidates will be asked to present on a research topic of their choice, for example their Master’s research or final undergraduate project. 
• Candidates will present for no more than 5 -10 mins/max. 8 slides.
• The interview will last for 20-30 minutes.
• Candidates will be given the opportunity to meet with a CDT Manager and test their presentation slides in Teams in advance of the interview. Candidates will be asked to provide the CDT with their final slides 2 working days in advance of their interview.

Interview panels 

• We will have a diverse interview panel comprising 3-4 members of academic staff.
• For students who apply to both UoN and UCL, there will just be one interview with panel members from both universities.
• For students who apply to the SSPC, there will be academics from the three CDT partner universities in Ireland on the interview panel.

Interview Feedback and Offers 

• Feedback will be provided to all interviewed candidates via the CDT Managers.
• Offers will be made by email to the top performing candidates within 1 week of the interview.
• Unsuccessful candidates will be emailed within 1 month of the interview.

ED&I Data collection

• ED&I data, in this context, means  all protected characteristics under the equalities act.
• ED&I data is collected for reporting and analysis, as required by our funding agencies and to inform our ED&I Strategy. We will make every effort to work towards each year group being at gender balanced and 35% BAME, and analysing the data will guide a continuous review of our processes to reach this goal.
• ED&I data will be extracted and analysed after recruitment is closed.
• ED&I data will be stored and subsequently deleted in accordance with GDPR regulations: Applications will be stored for a maximum of 12 months and deleted at the start of the next academic year.
• ED&I data will be maintained anonymously, and at no point will any data be published which could allow any individual to be identified. Anonymised EDI recruitment data will be kept throughout the CDT programme to analyse the effectiveness of our ED&I policies and processes.