For all CASE studentships, a SWBio DTP CASE Studentship Agreement is to be used (your university contracts team will have a copy of this – for Rothamsted-led CASE studentships, this will be via the collaborating university).  Please find below an overview of what this SWBio DTP CASE Studentship Agreement will include.

Please also seek guidance from your local university contracts team when designing a PhD project with a CASE partner to ensure all appropriate pre-contractual discussions related to the project take place. Your university contracts team will often have ‘checklists’ to help structure these conversations.

Parties	The Parties to the Agreement will be the Sponsor and: One of the university partners of the SWBio DTP (Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, UWE).  For Rothamsted-based studentships, the Research Organisation will be part of the agreement initiated by the registered university of the student. Individual students are not to be legal parties to the Agreement but will sign to acknowledge that they have ‘Read and Understood’ the terms.
Scope and Purpose	Purpose of the Agreement is to govern the funding and conduct of a studentship to enable a student to carry out the BBSRC SWBio DTP research training programme, and submit a related thesis for examination.
Project Delivery	The project shall be conducted by the student under the supervision of an academic supervisor from the University partner (and a Research Organisation supervisor. if applicable) and an industrial supervisor from the Sponsor. Primarily the work will be carried out at the student’s host institution.
Term and Termination	The term of the Sponsorship is 4 years. Termination will be allowed in certain circumstances such as the other Party’s unremedied breach but will not be permitted for convenience and will not negate the funding obligations unless the student has withdrawn from the project.
Funding Provided	Any funding for the student’s stipend and academic contribution from the Sponsor is committed at the outset of the Project. The funding amount will be fixed and ringfenced to be spent on the defined studentship project.
Resources	Unless otherwise agreed, the University (and Research Organisation, if applicable) will provide all other equipment and facilities necessary for the student to carry out the studentship project and complete their Thesis.
Publications	No veto on the publication of the results of our research activities is permissible. Delays to allow for patent filing are permissible and the anonymisation of results data may be permissible provided that the academic integrity and value of the research publication is not thereby undermined. It is acknowledged that the University partner has no right to publish confidential information provided by the Sponsor as Background IPR.
Thesis	The student must be permitted to include details of Background IPR and Foreground IPR in their thesis to allow examinations in accordance with University partner rules. In normal practice the thesis is placed on open access in the library after the award of PhD has been made.
IP rights	Background IPR	Ownership of Background IPR remains with the original owner. Each Party grants a license to the other to its Background IPR only for the term and purposes of the studentship.
	Foreground IPR (Part Funded)	The University partner (and the Research Organisation partner, if applicable) will own the Foreground IPR and grants a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to the Sponsor for internal purposes only. Dependent on the level of funding provided, the Sponsor may receive an Option to take an exclusive licence, on fair and reasonable terms (to take into account the Sponsor’s contribution), to the Foreground IPR. Such Option shall last for 6 months from the Sponsor’s notification of the existence of the Foreground IPR.
	Foreground IPR (Fully Funded)	Subject to consideration of each Party’s contribution, the Sponsor may own the Foreground IPR. The University partner (and the Research Organisation, if applicable), will receive a royalty-free licence to use the Foreground IPR for future academic, research and teaching purposes only.
Other funding bodies	As BBSRC contributing to funding their terms and conditions must be complied with.
Liability	The University partner gives no warranty in relation to the utility of the results or non-infringement of third-party intellectual property rights. The University partner’s liability towards the Sponsor must be capped at the level of funding provided by the Sponsor.
Indemnity by sponsor in favour of the University	Where a funder or collaborator owns or is licenced to exploit IP in results generated by the University partner, the University partner requires an indemnity in respect of claims made against it as a result of any third party claim (including a claim relating to infringement and/or product liability).
Governing Law	Laws of England and Wales

Research compliance

Trusted Research

The Parties will comply with UK/US Export Control Regulations, the National Security & Investment Act, and the UK Trusted Research Principles, and reasonably assist each other to do so. Example Research Compliance Triage Checklist (University of Bristol; Aug 2024) >>