The EPSRC - SFI Centre for Doctoral Training offers a vibrant and diverse research community. Applicants joining this programme are known as research engineers.They complete a unique four-year doctoral training programme in Photonic Integration and Advanced Data Storage, leading to a jointly awarded Engineering Doctorate degree (EngD) from Queen's University Belfast and the University of Glasgow. Each EngD is designed and delivered in close collaboration with one of the CDT's industrial partners. The research engineer spends around 75% of the programme onsite with the industrial sponsor. The CDT provides a cutting-edge and innovative research environment for doctoral students to develop the new technologies, products and systems required to address the expanding data storage needs of today's fast moving digital world. The programme equips participants with high-level and sophisticated technical training and skills alongside much sought after skills in distributed working, collaboration, entrepreneurship and business planning skills. CDT research engineers enjoy a substantial funding package which provides an individual budget for project research expenses and for mobility and conference travel. They are exposed to best practice commonly used in large scientific and development projects, including annual conclaves for the dissemination of ideas and network building, and peer-to-peer learning and training in world-leading fabrication, characterization and analysis techniques. Research engineers join a close-knit community of postgraduate research students who are supported by world-leading researchers from Queen's University's Centre for Nanostructured Media, host to the largest global Seagate Technology university engagement, and from the University of Glasgow whose capabilities include the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre in the Engineering & Microscopy facility of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Participants spend time at both universities benefiting from the excellent facilities available to postgraduates including The Graduate School at Queen's and The Graduate School at Glasgow. In addition we also include a formal collaboration with the Irish Photonic Integration Centre (IPIC), based in Cork & Dublin. The cohorts from Belfast/Glasgow and those at IPIC come together several times a year for events and activities.