IDCORE provides companies in the offshore energy industry with access to world-leading academic expertise, addresses important technical challenges and helps nurture the next generation of industry leaders in offshore renewable energy
A bespoke programme
The EPSRC and NERC Industrial Centre for Doctoral Training for Offshore Renewable Energy (IDCORE) programme trains exceptional scientists and engineers working closely with industry to address future challenges and develop leading technologies that are essential to uphold the UK’s global status in the Ocean Renewable Energy (ORE) sector.
Based within the leading UK offshore energy research Universities and Institutes (the University of Edinburgh, University of Exeter, Strathclyde University and the Scottish Association for Marine Science), IDCORE researchers complete a year of focused technical and financial ORE teaching at university before being matched with a company for a sponsored research placement. Each sponsoring company proposes and directs its research project based on individual needs or challenges, and hosts the researcher for three years as they undertake the project.
There are now over 100 IDCORE researchers contributing to the success of the UK’s Offshore Renewables sector, either by working with their sponsoring company or having graduated and working in the Industry, with many in prominent roles. In 2020 the success of IDCORE was recognised by the Industry and presented with the Contributions to Skills Award at the Scottish Renewables, Green Energy Awards.
Benefits for all
The prestigious IDCORE programme gives participating researchers invaluable experience of working in an industrial environment and produces graduates with a sound understanding of the business implications of industrial research activity.
With the help of their sponsoring companies, these outstanding
researchers have helped accelerate the deployment of offshore wind, wave
and tidal-current technologies to meet the UK's ambitious
offshore renewable energy targets and contribute to a more sustainable
future.
Meanwhile, sponsoring companies benefit from significant leverage on their investment, gaining a competitive advantage in the ORE sector through access to cutting-edge research and world-class facilities.
The level of commitment and technical calibre displayed by the IDCORE research engineers/graduates is exceptional. We could not have anticipated the contribution that IDCORE would bring to the development of services offered by JBA. The cost to JBA for each IDCORE research engineer represents superb value. Both are high calibre resources who act as integrated members of staff.
Dr Mark Lawless, IDCORE Industrial Supervisor JBA Consulting
Video transcript
IDCORE is a Centre for Doctoral Training. [It's] a program that brings together academic research with industry to create solutions for the offshore renewable energy sector.
It's a consortium of the University of Edinburgh, University of Exeter, University of Strathclyde, University of Swansea, and the Scottish Association for Marine Science.
It aims to train engineers of tomorrow and create a talent pipeline for the offshore renewable energy sector, contributing to the UK economy and contributing to the net zero strategy.
IDCORE was developed to bring benefit to the sector and to individual companies who are working in the offshore renewable sector.
It is specifically designed to enable people to do research projects. Long-term research projects are three years to help provide a commercial benefit from innovative research that students are undertaking.
Some of our best students, who have a great undergraduate [degree] and even work experience, do a year's taught course where they learn all they need about the sector.
At that point, we ask companies to propose projects to the IDCORE, and then we do a matching event where we place the students with the companies. The students are then with the companies for three years undertaking the research that the companies requested and a proposal set by the company. So, at the end of the three years, companies have an in-depth research project on the area that they're interested in.
The companies have access to the best engineering students, who will then be able to access the latest ideas and latest thinking and will be guided by our world-class researchers at the University of Edinburgh and our partner universities.
If companies are interested in getting involved in the IDCORE program, they should get in touch with the Edinburgh Innovations team and we can discuss how they can participate in the program.
