Oxford × QRT Labs welcomes first DPhil cohort

The University of Oxford has welcomed the first cohort of DPhil students to Oxford × QRT Labs, part of a long-term research initiative between Qube Research & Technologies (QRT) and the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London.

Four DPhil students make up Oxford × QRT Labs’ first cohort, with one researcher based in Engineering Science and the others in the Mathematical Institute, the Department of Statistics, and the Department of Computer Science.

The launch also marks the appointment of Professor Blanka Horvath as Director of Oxford × QRT Labs.

Oxford × QRT Labs forms part of a wider research network bringing together early-career researchers, academics and QRT’s research and technology community. The initiative is designed to support fundamental research while creating opportunities for researchers to exchange ideas across disciplines and institutions and to engage with industry and the wider scientific and technological community.

Across Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial, the first QRT Labs cohort comprises 13 early-career researchers working across mathematics, statistics, computer science and engineering. Their research spans areas including AI and its mathematical foundations, intelligent systems, decision-making under uncertainty, scientific and high-performance computing, optimisation, and advanced mathematical and statistical modelling.

Professor Blanka Horvath, Director of Oxford × QRT Labs, says, 'It is a privilege to lead Oxford × QRT Labs at the beginning of this ambitious partnership. Oxford’s particular strength lies in the depth of expertise across mathematics, statistics, computer science and engineering. My ambition is to make this more than a collection of individual research projects: to build a genuinely connected community in which doctoral and postdoctoral researchers can pursue fundamental questions, exchange ideas across disciplinary boundaries, and benefit from sustained engagement with QRT’s researchers. I am especially delighted to welcome our first four DPhil students and look forward to building the Lab with them".

The first cohort forms part of QRT’s longer-term commitment to supporting early-career research. Across the three partner universities, the initiative is expected to support more than 70 doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers/research fellows. Researchers will also have opportunities to connect across the wider QRT Labs network through seminars, events and an annual conference, encouraging exchange between disciplines, institutions and QRT’s research community.

The first cohort and the developing QRT Labs community were celebrated at a launch event at QRT’s headquarters in London on 12 October, bringing together researchers, academics and university representatives from Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial.

Main image top row L to R: Nathalie Mikaeloff, Mary Teeter (Oxford), Daniel Giamouridis, Clément Mouhot (Cambridge), Meaghan Annear (Cambridge), Panos Parpas (Imperial), Matthew Colbrook (Cambridge), Ruth Ntumba (Imperial) Bottom row L to R: Jon Chapman (Oxford), Jim Naismith (Oxford), Laurent Laizet, Blanka Horvath (new director Oxford), Nick Dorey (Cambridge), Ivan Smith (Cambridge)