The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council invites applications for its strategic training awards for research skills. These support the development of strategically important and vulnerable research skills and capabilities in the biosciences. Awards are available to develop postgraduate-level training in areas of significant need for clearly defined academic and industrial sectors.

BBSRC welcomes applications for support of any research capability within their remit, but priority is given to applications in relation to capabilities within the following areas:

•maths, statistics and computational biology;

•physiology and pathology of plants, animals and microbes;

•agriculture and food security.

The principal investigator must be resident in the UK and an academic employee at the lecturer or equivalent level at an eligible organisation, which may be a higher education institution, a research institute funded by a research council or an independent research organisation. Full or partial PhD, MSc or MRes studentships, as well as conference attendance and travel bursaries, are not supported by this programme.

The budget is worth up to £250,000 per year. Awards are worth up to £100,000 each and up to 30 awards may be supported each year.

Deadline: 4pm on 1 February 2017