POWTECH · Integrating research training in particle & powder technology to deliver efficient products with high functionality

Approximately 80% of all products are or were a particle at some point in their processing lifetime. Particle and colloid technology has been described as the ""Growth Engine of Tomorrow"" with the market projected to grow from $2T to $10Tr over the next decade. Alongside with this challenge, the number of researchers active in powder technology is limited and only a few universities, public and private institutes are educating specialists in this field. PowTech ITN aims to integrate inter-sectoral and multidisciplinary research in particle and powder technology into the training of 15 highly skilled young researchers, to strengthen the competitiveness of food and pharmaceutical industry and to strengthen the European Research Area. The PowTech ITN has 20 partners (9 industry) and comprises a focused research programme and a graduate school.The Focused Research programme will use an engineering design approach applied to powder processing. The understanding and modelling of powder structure from a molecular to a macro disperse scale will be used to understand how powder properties/functionality are formed or modified during processing. This knowledge will be used to select the appropriate process for production of the structure of interest. The long-term aim is to develop innovative products and to provide tools allowing minimal pilot plant trials.The PowTech Graduate School is aligned with the research objectives of the project covering relevant S&T and personal skills courses but also an intensive and continuous training in collaboration with industry. In addition to the industrial secondments, the ESRs will have industrial training in different industries. An industrial mentor will be appointed to guide their Career development plan. The ESR will also be trained in Research Methodology through preparing a research plan for their work, and later in their project by developing a research plan, supervising a MSc student, and writing a Grant application.""