European doctoral training in aeroacoustics by a Marie Curie Integrated Training Network

Training the next generation of aeroacoustic researchers is vital for addressing some difficult yet very important societal challenges, such as the provision of environmentally sustainable air transport operations, both for what concerns airport noise pollution and cabin noise. Sustained demand for more fuel efficient, environmentally friendly, and quieter aircraft power plants is promoting the development of ultra-high bypass engines for large transport aircraft. These turbofan engines require trained aero-acousticians and improved industrial design tools, to tackle some of the difficult design challenges posed by the larger diameter and by the larger fraction of the thrust delivered through the secondary (annular) nozzle. Whilst aeroacoustics is a well-established discipline in its own right, it tends not to be offered as an undergraduate course. This creates a recruitment challenge in doctoral training, with new post-graduate students being recruited across a range of qualifications, including Physics (physical acoustics), Mathematics, and Engineering (aerodynamics). A doctorate in aeroacoustics therefore poses the dual challenge of developing the underpinning basic knowledge in the researchers while pursuing advances in the state of the art. Seven European doctoral schools have teamed up in an Integrated Training Network of the 7th Framework Programme, AeroTraNet 2, in an effort to create an aeroacoustic doctoral training experience with greater critical mass, in which doctoral candidates could avail themselves of training facilities and courses across the network, to address their start-up knowledge gap. This four-year experience generated a wealth of lessons learnt, from sharing doctoral training practices, as well as from bottom-up initiatives led by the Early Stage Researchers involved in the project.