4th Interdisciplinary Postgraduate Conference: “Funding and Careers for Postgraduate Students” Dr Nathaniel Golden Research Development Manager, School of Languages and Social Sciences 16th June 2015

Aims  Academic Career and Funding  Benefits  Lectureships, Fellowships and Teaching posts  Key Postdoctoral Funders  Key questions for a academic career Strategy

Academic Career and Funding What do you need funds for? Tuition and Maintenance Fieldwork (travel, subsistence or other research costs) Conference attendance Networking opportunities Materials Hardware and software Printing and other consumables And who do you apply to? UK/EU/International funding bodies Aston or other HEI scholarships Charities Enterprise and commerce Professional organisations & Learned Societies Why should PhD students apply for funding and what is out there?

Benefits?  Curriculum Vitae  General employment  Networking  Impact  Transferable skills  Post-doctoral applications  Academic positions

Lecturerships, Fellowships and Research posts Researcher Research Assistant - Whilst on your PhD – up to 6 hours a week Research Associate - Post-doctoral position – anything from an hour a week to FT – on a project Lectureship Research, Teaching and Admin duties – Can be both P/T and F/T, though its usually FT Fellowships Via application for particular deadlines – as follows: Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship ESRC Future Leaders Scheme British Academy Post-doctoral Fellowship

Leverhulme Early Career Fellows – March 2016 Early Career Fellowships aim to provide career development opportunities for those who are at a relatively early stage of their academic careers but with a proven record of research. It is anticipated that a Fellowship will lead to a more permanent academic position. Applications are welcomed in any discipline, and approximately 70 Fellowships will be available in Fellowships can be held at universities or at other institutions of higher education in the UK. Applicants: May not currently hold, or have already held, a full-time established (i.e. permanent) academic position in a UK university or comparable institution in the UK. May, when registered for a doctorate, apply only if they have submitted their doctoral thesis by the closing date, and confirmation of this will be required as part of the application procedure. The Trust will contribute 50% of each Fellow’s total salary costs up to a maximum of £23,000 per annum and the balance is to be paid by the host institution. Given the prestige of the awards each Fellow may request annual research expenses of up to £6000 to further his or her research activities. Fellowships are normally tenable for three years on a full-time basis.

Economic and Social Research Council - Future Leaders Scheme – deadline September 2015 The scheme is open to high-quality candidates from anywhere in the world who have a maximum of four years’ postdoctoral experience and the support of an eligible UK research organisation. The proposed host research organisation will be required to demonstrate a high level of commitment to the applicant’s career development. The scheme aims to: Enable outstanding early-career social scientists, in partnership with their host organisation, to acquire the skills set to become the future world leaders in their field Fund excellent social science research projects. We would like to emphasise that the scheme is intended to support researchers who are at any point in the four year eligibility period and encourages applicants who are currently completing or who are immediately post PhD. Grants will be for a maximum of three years with an overall limit £350,000 at 100 per cent full Economic Cost fEC) per grant (cost to ESRC of £280,000 at 80 per cent fEC). We aim to fund around 70 grants through this call. The four-year period is measured from the submission date of the PhD thesis.

British Academy Post-doctoral Fellowship Outline deadline – October 2015 This scheme is designed to enable outstanding early career researchers to strengthen their experience of research and teaching in a university environment, which will develop their curriculum vitae and improve their prospects of obtaining permanent lecturing posts by the end of the Fellowship. Applicants are expected to be at an early stage of their academic career. The British Academy’s aim in making these awards is to offer opportunities for outstanding early career researchers to strengthen their experience of research and teaching in a university environment which will develop their curriculum vitae and improve their prospects of obtaining permanent lecturing posts by the end of the Fellowship. The primary emphasis is on completion of a significant piece of publishable research, which will be assisted by full membership of an academic community of established scholars working in similar fields. The Fellowships will be tenable for three years. Level of award: Salary costs on host institution’s local pay scale, commensurate with equivalent appointments offering similar duties and responsibilities within the host institution’s own internal pay framework; plus limited research expenses; directly allocated costs, including mentor’s time, and estates, and indirect costs. Awards are tenable for three years. It is anticipated that up to 45 awards will be offered.

Key Questions for an academic career strategy Who are you now? Who do you want to be? What do you need to do to get there? Who do you need to know to get there?

Plan ahead Think strategically; act tactically Don’t put in effort if there isn't any (potential) reward Remember “in academic life, the important all to often gets pushed aside by the urgent” (Professor Edward Sweeney, Head of Group, ESM) As a member of academic staff, you are expected to spend at least 30%* of your time on research and research related activities 30% = 1.5 days a week, on average. Find what works for you – including your work life balance – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year

Who are you now? How good is your track record? How good are your networks? Both within Aston and externally Do you have access to a mentor and a peer group? Both within Aston and externally What are your research plans for the next 12 months?

Who do you want to be? How do you improve your track record? How do you improve your networks? Both within Aston and externally How do you improve your access to mentors and peer groups? What are your research plans for the next 5 years?

What do you need to do to get there? Improve your track record Know your subject Publish strategically (review articles? significant data; good journals; international collaborators; open access etc.) Improve your networks and access to mentors and your peer group Get to the right conferences Meet the right people Approach potential collaborators Access your networks of networks Plan for the next 5 years and 10 years Research costs money; plan your funding applications Plan your outputs; consider things like the REF cycle Don’t overlook the impacts of your research; this can provide opportunities e.g. for commercial funding which can be less competitive

Who do you need to know to get there? Who are the best names in your field? How do you make your name known to them? Conferences Volunteering to help can allow you to build links and get into good conferences for free Peer review/editorial work Most journals (and funders) are desperate for reviewers and, in some instances for junior colleagues to support editorial admin Collaboration (direct or indirect) Networks of networks, advisory boards etc. Subject-specific groups Strategy level meetings e.g. sandpits, briefings, surveys etc.

Planning your strategy Manpower (PhDs / postdocs) Dissemination / track record (conferences; seminar series) Pilot funds Research grants Equipment

Fellowships Tenders Networking and seminars Travel and Conference Grants Outline – (What’s the difference?) Seed-Corn Mobility and Exchange Prizes KTP/CASE ERDF type engagement European: H2020; Marie Curie; ERC; COST, RISE Research Councils: AHRC; ESRC; EPSRC; BBSRC; MRC Industry (contracts / CASE / KTP) Charities: Leverhulme, medical & other Professional bodies & Societies NIHR British Academy Royal Society Where to go?

Planning your Strategy: Applications 5 years

Planning your Strategy – an alternative Research Strands/ Projects What is required to move project forward ? Sources of funding and deadlines? Option 1Option 2

Finally…