The Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) promises young engineers some exciting opportunities for collaborative industry-university research. The Centre is sponsored by EPSRC and has students registered at Imperial College London, Strathclyde, Bristol, Nottingham and Warwick Universities. From 2015, the Centre will be extended to include the University of Manchester and will offer PhD as well as EngD courses.

This CDT has close links with the Research Centre in NDE and is administered from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London. The four-year EngD course combines advanced knowledge and professional development training modules with company-based research. The research may comprise a single project or a series of linked projects relating to advanced NDE technology. Projects are co-ordinated by the Centre, but supervised by any of the partner universities listed above.

Industrial partners in the EngD have included large companies such as Airbus, NNL, BAE Systems, BP, EDF, E-ON, Network Rail, RWE npower, Rolls-Royce, Amec, Shell, QinetiQ, Doosan Babcock and Renishaw. There are also a similar number of smaller companies involved. Successful candidates work closely with their chosen sponsor, normally carrying out the majority of their project work at that company.