IAS Early Career FellowshipsHow To Apply

Who are we? Director: Peter Scott- Professor of Chemistry

Research Strategy Manager: John Burden- Oversees the development of all IAS schemes

Programme Manager: Rebecca Vipond- Manage current ECFs & Accolade Programme

Programme Coordinator: Rachel Hitchcox

Administrators: Abbie Pritchard & Tina Hoare- Abbie is first point of contact for ECF queries ECR@warwick.ac.uk.

Exchanges Journal Senior Editor: Gareth Johnson

Our Purpose & Mission• Warwick’s strong and clear research strategy:

- Addressing the world’s most pressing challenges

- Leading by creating new research ideas

- Building connections with individuals and institutions

• IAS founded in 2007

• Advancing new research ideas, characterised by:

- Interdisciplinarity - creating synergies between traditional research disciplines

- Innovation - facilitating activities that realise the full value of our ideas

- Internationalisation - connecting Warwick researchers with partners around the world

What we do• Provide an environment and financial support

for the exchange and development of ideas- Academic colleagues: IAS awards, GCRF Fellowships

- Prestigious international visitors: Visiting Fellowships

- Postdoctoral Researchers: Fellowships, vacation schools

• Early Career Fellowship Scheme

- Running since 2008, over 300 fellows supported to date

- Annual cohort of 30 fellows, representing more than 20 different departments

• Competitive scheme competitive applications

• Consider what makes a good application

• Consider what makes a good Fellowship

• Q&A opportunity with IAS staff

Reasons for the session today…

What will be covered today?

• Overview of the Early Career Fellowship scheme

- Purpose of the scheme- Application criteria/eligibility- Expectations of IAS (what you do with 6-10 months)- What other ECFs have gone on to do next

• What makes a good fellowship?

• Is there a ‘perfect’ formulae for an application?

What does an ECF look like?

October 2019 Cohort

ECFs: The Scheme

• Designed to support Warwick doctoral candidates in the transition phase between their doctoral and postdoctoral careers

• Part-time (max. 50%), 2-3 term Fellowships• Tax-free bursary to attend training workshops• ECF candidates MUST have a thesis submitted for examination by start of

fellowship (OK if viva takes place during the Fellowship)

2 cohorts each year: typically 20 fellowships awarded per year:

18-19 Cohort 2: Thesis to be submitted for examination between 1 October 2019 and 30 April 2020Deadline for applications 14 January 2019Early Career Fellowship commences 25 April 2019 (start of Spring Term)

20-21 Cohort 1: Thesis to be submitted for examination between 1 May and 30 September 2020Deadline for applications MIDDAY 28 April 2020Early Career Fellowship commences October 2020 (start of Autumn Term)

ECFs: The Scheme

• Thesis MUST be submitted by the deadlineIf the thesis is submitted late the candidate mustwithdraw and will be eligible to re-apply in the next round

• Can be held in conjunction with another P/T post (internal or external) up to 50% FTE

• Live within a reasonable distance – Fellowship holders MUST be available for weekly IAS training and other IAS related activities

Career advancement:- Job and post-doctoral applications- Preparation of publications- Working on public engagement and outreach projects

Research Event: ₋ Research or skills-based to develop your research or to contribute to enhancing

skills base of Warwick PhD students and postdoc community

Accolade Programme:- Attend weekly networking lunch on Thursdays 12:30- Followed by the Accolade Programme 13.00 – 17:00 on Thursdays (term time only)

Accolade ProgrammeAcademic Careers, Leadership, and Employability Programme

• Research presentations: conveying your work clearlyto different audiences

• Interview training: make your mistakes when it doesn’t count!

• Academic careers: what you need to know- What is REF & TEF?- Media and Public Engagement- How to do Fellowship and Grant applications- Publication strategy

Further information on IAS Accolade sessions: www.warwick.ac.uk/accolade

ECFs: What do they go on to?

• Teaching Fellowships

• Industry

• Research Fellowship Awards (Leverhulme, Marie Curie)

• Postdoctoral positions (UK and overseas)

• Permanent lectureships & assistant professorships

Better than 50% placement rate (national average ≈ 20%)

ECFs: Numbers and success rate?

Round 2 18-19 22 applications 18 ECFs = 82%

Round 1 18-19 51 applications 16 ECFs = 31%

Round 2 17-18 35 applications a 12 ECFs = 34%

Round 1 17-18 53 applications a 14 ECFs = 28%

Round 2 16-17 35 applications a 12 ECFs = 34%

Round 1 16-17 53 applications a 14 ECFs = 28%

≈30%

Exercise• Split into small groups

• Review example statements

• Try to identify:– What works and what doesn’t?

– WHY are some better than others?

– What do you like/dislike?

– What makes some applications stand out?

– What wouldn’t you have thought of putting on an application that you will now consider?

– Any surprises?

Exercise: Feedback

• What did you find out?

• Are there variances between Faculty/ Department? Why might this be the case?

• Is there a perfect formula for a good application?

• How do you choose what to put in your research proposal and plan for the Fellowship?

“We have published on how different outcome measures

provide complementary information.”

• Does not convey extent of your own contribution - PhD supervisor, or

other researcher, could be first author

• Tells us what has been done but no information to convey or substantiate

the impact of the publications.

Avoid Empty Statements

“The results of my research have so far led to the

creation of a novel eLearning system – Topolor, and

18 papers (of which I am first author ) published in

journals, book chapters and A-level conference

proceedings such as AIED , AMCIS, ITiCSE, UMAP,

EC-TEL, ICALT, ICWL (with three of them receiving the

‘best paper award ’.) I have been presenting the

progress and results of my research at national and

international conference, including top ones in our

research field (UMAP, EC-TEL, ICALT)”.

• Quantifies output and clearly demonstrates their level of contribution

• Shows diversity of outputs• Substantiates claims• Shows work is receiving external recognition• Conveys engagement with wider research

community• Work is being showcased to most relevant

audiences in their field

Showing evidence of the impact

What are we looking for?• Consolidating existing research through publications

• Building collaborations with others and their results

• Organising networking, public engagement and outreach events

• Progress towards developing an international profile

• Maintaining a developed online presence

• Making the transition to a postdoctoral position

• Making the most of training opportunities

The information that you provide should convey

credibility, a plan, vision & proactivity

Keep in Mind…

• Fellowships are about funding an individual (not just the research)

It’s more about your plans than the research topic itself

• Who is a safe investment? Someone who has a track record of: • Getting things done

• Is not short of ideas

• Knows what they want to do next

• Has a clear plan of how they are going to do it

• Need evidence of proactivity & a plan

The Do’s

• Read the funding guidelines

• Make your achievements are visible in the proposal

• Give examples, show context, substantiate claims

• Be specific (don’t leave it to reviewer to join up the dots)

• Make it about ‘you’ not ‘we’

• Remember, you’re writing for a non-specialist audience (get a friend from another department to read it)

• With IAS applications, highlighting the interdisciplinarity is KEY

The Don’ts

• DON’T make it difficult for the reviewer• DON’T copy and paste your thesis abstract and present it as the

research proposal• DON’T fill your application with equations or formulae without

explaining what they demonstrate• DON’T write in generalities• DON’T ignore the interdisciplinary nature of your work• DON’T underestimate how long it will take you to hand in

Questions?

IAS website: www.warwick.ac.uk/ias (funding, events & fellowships)

Email: ECR@warwick.ac.uk (contact for queries about ECF & Accolade)

Guidance & Apply: https://warwick.ac.uk/ias/schemes/ecf