Programme overview

The Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems Centre for Doctoral Training (AAPS) integrates deep research with a unique skills and training programme to give you comprehensive training and detailed knowledge in your chosen specific subject area alongside colleagues working across a broad spectrum of challenges facing the Industry.

All our students undertake an original piece of research in a specific discipline related to Sustainable Propulsion Systems whilst expanding their expertise through our core training programme, mentoring activities, industrial placements and academic secondments. 

Your PhD Programme

 

During your PhD, you will have research, and the preparation of a thesis, as your main focus. In your PhD work, you will create new knowledge in your specific research topic within the broader field of AAPS. At the end of year one, you will submit a transfer report and be required to pass an oral examination in which you will be expected to set out the motivation and background to your proposed research, a credible methodology, any preliminary results and a detailed plan for your work over years two and three. A PhD thesis should be submitted within four years of joining AAPS with regular progress reports submitted.

For the duration of your PhD, you will be part of our community. You will come together with the AAPS cohorts through centre activities such as:

  • Involvement in student-led symposia
  • Participation in research incubators and writing retreats
  • Attendance at the Guest Lectures and Master Classes programme
  • Networking activities
  • Annual Conferences
  • Mentoring

There will also be opportunities to undertake industrial placements and academic secondments.

Core Training

Your training will help prepare you to work with the future engineers, scientists, policy makers and thought leaders in propulsion systems. You will learn from academics with a wide range of expertise in the disciplines needed to pioneer and shift the transition to clean, sustainable and affordable mobility. 

Training

During our three year training programme you will develop core personal and professional skills in Responsible Research Methods, Innovation, Team working and Leadership and Business Practice. 

To develop these skills we run regular training sessions on a variety of topics, these sessions vary between being facilitated by external companies, our industrial partners, the academic management team and the academic theme leads. By being a student at the University of Bath you will also get to take advantage of the DoctoralSkills programme on offer. 

Guest lectures

This series brings together specialists from both the University and our Industry partners to give you the broad view that will allow you to challenge and change the current thinking around personal mobility. Guest lectures are something that you should attend throughout the whole three years of the programme. Read about previous Guest Lectures.

Research Incubators

Research Incubators are intensive off-campus workshops that serve as unique platforms for collaborative idea generation and proposal development.

The Research Incubator starts with a series of concise, thought-provoking talks that lay the groundwork for the theme. Participants then work together in small groups of mixed expertise to develop the questions into well-defined research challenges and outline potential methods for investigating them. 

Research Incubators generate ideas that can be jointly pursued between academia and industrial partners, and lead to direct impact in terms of applications and research. Read more about Research Incubators.

Masterclasses

You will also have the opportunity to attend masterclasses from experts in a particular subject area. These masterclasses are deep dives into a particular subject or technical area that give you the opportunity to be explore research and challenges related to mobility. Read about previous Masterclasses.

 

Meet the supervisors

Our CDT draws on a pool of potential PhD supervisors with a range of research expertise across the University. Our academic staff teach, research and supervise PhDs in specialisms across the University's departments.

Find out more about the staff who could be available to supervise your PhD project.

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