THE University and College Union (UCU) is demanding PhD students at the University of Cambridge receive greater funding to meet industry standards.

An open letter has been sent to the Cambridge Trust demanding the institution gives students four years of funding to replace the current default of three. 
 
The current model is less than the industry standard funded through UK research and innovation, the UCU said. 

University of Cambridge students can apply for extensions, but the union warned that this is done in the last months of funding, which causes “a great deal of uncertainty and distress.”
 
The Cambridge Trust, which gives scholarships to University of Cambridge students from the UK and overseas, has over £36 million in assets while the students it funds survive on £17,000 per year, the UCU said.
 
UCU regional official Lydia Richards said, “We are in a cost of living crisis — the trust’s current funding system is not fit for purpose and needs to be reformed.”