The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has kicked off a sweeping effort to deepen the ties between PhD students and industry. The pilot programme will provide participants with hands-on industry research experience and funding from universities, companies and the NSF. It will serve more than 250 students, who will receive funding for four years. The programme aims to 'help graduates better apply their research to real-world challenges', an NSF spokesperson said. The effort will give companies the chance 'to invest directly into how our doctoral researchers are trained', Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said in a statement, noting that the majority of US recipients of PhDs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics do not remain in academia. Such training provides benefits for both students and employers, says Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, Dean of the Graduate College at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which...
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