This paper investigates forms of collaborative doctoral programmes that enable employer engagement in innovation and skills development. Collaborative doctoral programmes exist in different national contexts for the development of the science and technology human capital. Such programmes are also seen as policy tools that enhance relationships between academia and industry. Illustrative cases of collaborative doctoral programmes in the United Kingdom highlight the co-existence and co-evolution of several models of collaborative doctoral programmes. Collaborative doctoral programmes, both centre format and non-centre format, provide an institutional space where doctoral students as social actors can build their professional identities as the nascent bridging scientists. For the university, both internal and external management and governance of such hybrid space for knowledge production and mediation is of critical importance for the long-term impact.