We have already made several alliances with key companies across the animation, games and visual effects sector and are working to make more.
If you are interested in learning more about the CDE’s work and how it can benefit your organisation please contact us at cde@cs.bath.ac.uk with your details and we will get back to you.
Please see our Current Students page for more details of our current partners and projects. Or testimonials for industry feedback on the programme.
Q: What does CDE offer?
- An opportunity to initiate research and development projects that give your company a competitive advantage.
- A supported way to develop capacity and work on those projects you haven’t had time, funds or people to look into before.
- A way to cultivate an innovation culture that directly transfers to enhanced product development.
- A way to connect with like-minded businesses who wish to use R&D for growth and to benefit from the experiences of the cohort of CDE Research Engineers working across industry sectors.
We do this by
- Providing a Research Engineer to work with you without increasing your headcount and without the overhead costs of an employee.
- Funding the Research Engineer’s tuition fees, stipend and ongoing development via conferences and resources.
- Providing academic support and guidance in the latest research developments.
Q: Why was the CDE set up?
The Centre for Digital Entertainment was set up to train the future leaders for the computer games, animation, VFX, visualisation and graphics-related industries. Industry often report skills shortages or a lack of candidates with the ‘right’ skills. We are here to remedy that.
Our company partners suggest project ideas. We suggest candidates until a perfect match has been found. Many companies in other sectors use the EngD scheme as an extremely cost-effective way of training future high-level staff.
Q: What is an EngD and why haven’t I heard of it?
An EngD is a doctoral level research degree of the same rigour and innovation as a PhD but designed to be conducted in an industry context.
- The R&D projects’ focus is defined and guided by the companies’ needs.
- Researchers submit a portfolio, not a conventional thesis. It is expected that REs will work on many different projects. Results can be applied immediately.
- The portfolio thesis can comprise technical reports, journal and conference publications, examples of code and similar.
More information on the EngD degree can be found here. What is an EngD?
Q: I have worked with placement students before. What’s different about the EngD scheme?
- Calibre of students: Our Research Engineers will already hold a good first degree, in many cases they also hold a Master’s qualification and have industry experience.
- Financial support: The Centre invests in supporting the RE financially. A typical company contribution is only £8k pa.
- Ongoing: Placement schemes often only last for 12 months at most. This programme has funding for 4 years allowing REs to really become involved in transformative development work within the organisation.
Q: Why should I get involved?
- This is one of the easiest, cheapest ways of investing in four years of high-skills research training, directly geared to your company’s future.
- The opportunity to engage in innovative R&D at no risk to your product line or day-to-day business
- The chance to train one or more people in your company environment and take on someone to be involved in innovative projects directly benefiting your product development
- Retain and train graduates well beyond the level of new employees at a low cost to you (£8k per year). CDE covers the majority of costs (£200k per student over four years)
- The opportunity to retain, reward or develop your current workforce. The EngD programme is also open to your current employees. If you would like to talk to us about this opportunity contact us on cde@cs.bath.ac.uk
Q: Does this scheme qualify for R&D tax support?
We cannot advise on tax benefits but, currently, all companies spending over £10,000 per annum on R&D (as defined for tax purposes) are entitled to a deduction when calculating their taxable profits of:
• 150% of qualifying expenditure for small and medium-sized companies, and
• 125% of qualifying expenditure for larger companies.
Notice that you can offset a lot more than you actually spend. We strongly advise you consult your accountant because we find many client companies use this to their advantage.
The small charges made by the Centre can be offset but so too can larger expenses.
For example, if one of your employees registers as a research student with us while still being fully employed by you, their salary can be offset for four years. The financial benefit to you will comfortably exceed the hours they are required to invest in the student activity. This is an excellent way of retaining a valued employee during the programme while freeing up salary cost. Students do not come under employment legislation or cost you employee-overheads unless, as above, you choose to employ them: we never require you to, you can employ them part way through the programme to maximise the chance they stay with you, setting their salary against tax while they complete the degree.
DTI information on how the tax relief works
HM Revenue and Customs information
Q: What happens if the project doesn’t work out or if internal problems arise?
We will always strive to solve any problems through discussion and mediation. There is the possibility of cancelling the EngD agreement in case of a student’s misconduct or if the company encounters severe difficulties. We strongly encourage only embarking on the EngD scheme with the view of working with the RE for the full 4 years.
Q: What is the cost for us?
The average company contribution is £8k pa, plus up to £500 for travel expenses. In total the average cost is £32k with £2k travel over 4 years.
You would also need to provide a workspace (though we can fund laptop or workstation) and a member of staff to act as an industry mentor and guide the Research Engineer and liaise with the University.
