IoE Research Staff

Turning knowledge into power: Changing the world of the researcher in UK higher education

 

Researchers Workshop, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1E 7HT

12 – 4.30pm, Wednesday 1 December 2010

 

Here is a great opportunity to find out more about your rights, how we get improvements for researchers and to share experiences with colleagues at other universities.  We believe that the culture of fixed-term contracts and lack of forward planning is a barrier to developing real career paths for researchers and to delivering the highest quality, world-class research.  Find out how UCU has won improvements for researchers and how you can get involved at your university.

 

•             Learn about your rights in the workplace.

•             Find out where researchers are establishing best practice in our universities.

•             Learn how you can win changes at work.

•             Share experiences and network with other researchers.

 

Talks will cover your legal rights, the national picture, the REF and UCU’s Stand Up For Research campaign.

 

Lunch is provided and reasonable expenses will be paid.  To register please contact me at lflynn@ucu.org.uk. Please pass on this e-mail to any other colleagues who may be interested. The workshop is for UCU members only but non-members can join UCU ( www.joinonline.ucu.org.uk ) and then register.

 

I look forward to seeing you there.

 

Best wishes,

 

Laura Flynn

UCU Branch Development Organiser – London

UKRO are running two training sessions in London in early December on writing applications for the European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants. These events are free of charge and places are allocated on a first come first serve basis. Further information can be found on this link http://www.ukro.ac.uk/erc/events_ukro/10_events_adg/100728_adg_10_flyer_v2.pdf

Applications are welcome for the BERA Meeting of Minds Fellowships 2010-11.

BERA Meeting of Minds Awards are aimed at educational researchers who have already established themselves in the field by high quality publication but who have yet to become Principal Investigators (or equivalent) in their own right. The Scheme provides modest funding for a targeted programme of mentoring with a more experienced colleague (usually beyond the applicant’s home institution) which will enhance the applicant’s ability to gain high quality research funding or equivalent, to publish and subsequently to develop the research capacities of others.

It is anticipated that each Fellowship will be relatively short in duration and have a definite outcome which should lead to the furtherance of the research career and research contribution of the applicant. There is no provision for salary costs for either applicants or mentors and it is anticipated that most costs will be incurred in travel and subsistence and will be in the range £300-£600. Applications where the applicants and the proposed mentor are in the same institution must show how funds will be genuinely additional to those which might reasonably be expected from internal staff development budgets.

Applications should be made using the pro-forma available from the BERA website (www.bera.ac.uk) and should be accompanied by a one page Curriculum Vitae for both the Applicant and the Mentor. This call plus guidance notes is also attached here for reference.

Proposals should be submitted by email to the BERA Office (admin@bera.ac.uk) before 12.00 noon on 1st December 2010.

I’m running one of 2010′s Vitae Innovate projects, which will focus on better understanding researchers’ thinking on and experience of public engagement with the aim of informing policy and development activities in this area. The first stage of the project involves a short survey targeted at all research staff which seeks to have as wide a take-up as possible. The survey can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/s/vitaesurvey. Respondents have the opportunity to win an Amazon or iTunes voucher through their participation.

There is also a blog post about the survey on Vitae’s Research Staff Blog: www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/156431-310241/Roll-up-roll-up. If you have questions about the project then please do drop me a line. In the meantime, thank you for your help with driving forward this research!

Dr Sarah Davies, Imperial

Funds direct costs and a proportion of indirect costs

European Research Council (ERC) Starting Independent Researcher aim to support up-and-coming research leaders who are about to establish or consolidate a proper research team and to start conducting independent research in Europe. It will support the creation of excellent new research teams and will strengthen others that have been recently created. Research applications are invited in any field of science.

Applicants can be of any nationality must have obtained their PhD within the last two to ten years.

Funding of up to € 2.0 M per grant is available for a duration of up to 5 years. For further information please visit the website  http://erc.europa.eu/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&topicID=65

The deadline for applications is 24 November 2010

The Canadian Government has invited the Commonwealth Scholarship
Commission in the UK to nominate up to fifteen candidates for one year
‘Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships’ in Canada in 2011 and we are
seeking applications from suitably qualified candidates from which to
select our nominees.  These Fellowships are being offered in the
humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences and engineering

Please note that the Commission can only accept applications from UK
citizens and candidates should have been awarded their PhD within the
last three years (or to have completed the PhD requirements before
taking up the award in September 2011).

Applications must be made using the online application system provided
by the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) by the 15
November 2010, and all supporting documentation must be submitted to the
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK by the 25 November 2010.
The Commission will then make our own selections and will nominate
candidates to CBIE for their consideration in January 2011.

Full information about the Fellowships, including a link to the
application form, can be found on our Website at:
http://www.cscuk.org.uk/apply/outward_awards.asp  and any queries can be
addressed to: csfpout@acu.ac.uk

Commonwealth Scholarship Commission Secretariat
October 2010

For research staffand staff supporting researchers who are establishing Research Staff Associations:

Vitae research staff conference: empowering researchers through staff associations

4 November 2010, London

 

 

Do you want to get your voice heard more effectively in national and local policy discussions?

Do you want to make an impact in your own institution and nationally?

The Vitae research staff conference is for members of research staff who are active in research staff associations (RSAs)* or who wish to become so. People who have an interest in setting up research staff associations are also invited to attend. Last year’s inaugural conference resulted in the establishment of the UK Research Staff Association (UKRSA) and launched Vitae’s successful RS blog.

This year, even more than last, the emphasis will be on the exchange of views by members of research staff alongside input on national developments. Attending this event will empower individuals through a greater understanding of policy and practice in order to make an impact on the experiences and careers of research staff within their own institutions and influence national agendas.

This interactive one-day conference will enable you to:

• participate with research staff associations to enable research staff to make an impact in their own institutions and nationally
• discuss the research environment and examine issues that impact on research staff across institutional and disciplinary barriers
• debate issues around researcher’s career paths and discuss how RSAs can develop and influence professional development
• find out about resources of support for research staff, including the new Researcher Development Framework, an update on an PI Leadership project and resources on equality and diversity.
• ask questions that you’ve always wanted to but weren’t sure who to ask
• network with fellow researchers
• help build and maintain successful research staff communities, including examples of research staff association models and practice, and examples of institutional governance models in order to identify who and how to influence.

Places are limited so book now!

Click here to download the leaflet for hard copy distribution

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*Research Staff Association (RSA)We consider an RSA to be an organisation or group of individuals where researchers facilitate the organisation of training activities for other researchers, represent the interests of researchers in interactions with institutional management and administration, inform institutional policy, facilitate the arrangement of career development sessions for other researchers, and/or provide support for researchers as necessary.

Event overview

The Vitae research staff conference is for members of research staff who are active in research staff associations (RSAs)* or who wish to become so. People who have an interest in setting up research staff associations are also invited to attend. Last year’s inaugural conference resulted in the establishment of the UK Research Staff Association (UKRSA) and launched Vitae’s successful RS blog. This year, even more than last, the emphasis will be on the exchange of views by members of research staff alongside input on national developments. Attending this event will empower individuals through a greater understanding of policy and practice in order to make an impact on the experiences and careers of research staff within their own institutions and influence national agendas.

The conference will address the following topics:

• Building and maintaining successful research staff communities, including examples of research staff association models and practice, and examples of institutional governance models in order to identify who and how to influence
• Implementing the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, including the launch of a UKRSA/Vitae report demonstrating the impact of research staff associations in response to the Concordat principles
• Researcher policy updates and the changing research environment, including key messages from Vitae’s Researchers, fixed term contracts and universities: understanding law in context report and What do Researchers Do 3.5 year analysis, and a disciplinary analysis of Careers in research online survey (CROS)
• Resources of support for research staff, including the new Researcher Development Framework, an update on an PI Leadership project and resources on equality and diversity. 

Participants will:

• discuss how research staff can get their voices heard more effectively in national and local policy discussions
• encourage participation with research staff associations to enable research staff to make an impact in their own institutions and nationally
• consider the research environment and examine issues that impact on research staff across institutional and disciplinary barriers
• examine issues around researcher’s career paths and discuss how RSAs can develop and influence professional development

Who should attend?

• Members of committees of local or regional research staff associations
• Those interested in establishing RSAs
• A number of places for staff supporting research staff who are establishing RSAs

Go to http://vitae.ac.uk/229601/Vitae-research-staff-conference-2010-empowering-researchers-through-staff-associations.html for further details

 

International Agreements British Academy/Association of Commonwealth Universities Grants for International Collaboration Aim of the award Funds are available to support international joint activities involving British scholars in collaboration with Commonwealth partners. Applications must be for projects involving genuine collaborative work between a defined group of scholars in one, or possibly two, other Commonwealth countries. Priority will be given to applications involving the initiation of a new programme where there is an expectation of continued collaboration, or a defined outcome such as planned joint publications. Approximately ten awards are made each year. Level of award Up to £5000 is available to cover travel, maintenance costs and approved research expenditure incurred in the partner country or countries for a period of one year only. The award is not intended to cover institutional overheads or permanent staff costs. Support will not be offered for an open-ended programme involving widespread international participation, or a programme of benefit primarily to the British partner. Research visits to Partner Academies Aim of the award This scheme offers an opportunity for scholars of post-doctoral or equivalent status who wish to do their own research in one of the countries with which the Academy has a bilateral agreement in the fields of the humanities and social sciences: China, Georgia, Russia, Taiwan (Academia Sinica). Level of award The Academy covers economy travel and visa expenses, where applicable. Accommodation and maintenance are met by the receiving partner organisation. Normal length of visit: between two and four weeks, but longer visits may be possible: contact the International Relations Department for further information. Applicants should allow at least six months (nine months if planning a trip to Russia) from the closing date for applications to the proposed start of their activities. Joint Projects with Partner Academies Aim of the award This scheme offers support for joint projects between scholars in the UK and countries with which the Academy has bilateral Agreements in the fields of the humanities and social sciences, lasting between one and three years. The countries covered are China, Georgia, Japan, Russia, and Taiwan (Academia Sinica and National Science Council). Level of award Activities in connection with joint projects may include jointly organised seminars, conferences or workshops as well as individual visits in either direction to undertake collaborative research. Applicants should allow at least six months from the closing date for applications to the proposed start of their activities. JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme Aim of the award The JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme for Foreign Researchers provides opportunities to young postdoctoral researchers from other countries to conduct, under the guidance of their hosts, cooperative research with leading research groups in universities and other Japanese institutions for periods of between 12-24 months. The programme aims to help such researchers advance their own research while contributing to the advancement of research in Japan and the counterpart countries. The British Academy acts as intermediary to this scheme, which is funded entirely by the JSPS. In its capacity as foreign nominating authority, the British Academy is entitled to nominate up to three candidates each year. The scheme is intended to support research in all fields of the humanities and social sciences. Level of Award JSPS provides each Fellow with the following support:* A round-trip air ticket for the Fellow only A monthly maintenance stipend of 362,000 yen A settling-in allowance of 200,000 yen A research Grant of up to 1,500,000 yen per year (“Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research” applied for separately by the Japanese Host) for cooperative research related expenses Accident and sickness insurance coverage for the Fellow only. (*The amounts of the Awards indicated may be subject to change.) Further information Please refer to the individual country’s web page on the British Academy’s website for further details of the individual schemes: http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/guide/intl/intact.cfm. Closing date The closing date for applications for these schemes is 13 October 2010. Decisions are expected to be announced in March. Application procedure Applications must be submitted via https://egap.britac.ac.uk/, the Academy’s electronic grant application system.   The British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH Tel: 020 7969 5200, Fax: 020 7969 5300, Web: www.britac.ac.uk

 

This scheme is designed to enable outstanding early career researchers to strengthen their experience of research and teaching in a university environment. Applicants are expected to be at an early stage of their academic career. Awards are tenable for three years (not renewable) from a starting date between September 2011 and January 2012. The award provides salary costs, funding for research and some indirect costs. For further information please visit the website http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/guide/pdfells.cfm

The selection process is conducted over two stages. The first deadline for applications is 6 October 2010