Tagged / Marie Curie

Need A Fully Funded Research Fellow ???

  

 The Prize

These schemes provide strong financial support for a Research Fellow in your department for a period of 12 – 24 months on any research topic.

The Catch

The Research Fellow must come from another European Country or International Base worldwide. It is joint application with you and the fellowship candidate – so they must be identified. (If the fellow is already in the UK they must have been working here for less than 1 year in the last 3.)

The Deadline

Deadline for application is August 2013 – but the forms are relatively easy & straight forward – although moderately time consuming.Fellowships will start in early 2014 but this start date could be extended to early 2015.

Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)                  Deadline  Mid August 2013

International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)       Deadline  Mid August 2013

Note: For people already at the University there is a similar outgoing international Fellowship scheme to enable research periods in other , non European, Labs and Research Centres.

These fellowships are prestigious and highly sought after, especially as they pay very well. There is a difference in emphasis between the two schemes but the overriding criteria is candidate, and host, excellence with respect to the justification of the project rationale. This is all derived from the candidates cv and thus please discuss initially with Martin Pickard who can advise on suitability and fit.

These fellowships are an excellent, and often overlooked, way to expand and compliment a research team. Initial advice is imperative as, again, project structure and rationale with respect to the candidate are very important in determining success and need to be argued and justified around the actual science and project.

Requirements.

One University (Host) and one applicant, of any nationality, other than from than the UK. (candidates may already be in the UK but must have spent less than 12 months of the past 36 in the UK)

The higher the quality of the cv, rated against age and experience, the more likelihood of funding success. Each prospective fellow can only apply for one fellowship but any host can have as many fellows as they want applying to work with the same PI.

The Grant

Typical project period – Minimum 12 months — Maximum 24 months

Fellow income: In excess of 80,000 Euro per year.

University Income: Minimum of 18,000 Euro per year.

Help Needed ??

If you have a research Fellow in Mind (or can find one through networking or your colleague links) the application will not take a lot of time – but a clearly defined and specific approach is required. Guidance notes will be available as well as direct one to one support from our proposal writing specialist Dr. Martin Pickard. 

To assist further we have also arranged a series of 2 morning information sessions to be held on the Wednesday 27th of March and repeated again on the Tuesday 16th of April 2013 

Information Session 1 –  09:00am – 10:00am

A Brief Introduction to the Marie Curie Fellowship Schemes – for those of general interest.  

In addition to the general European topic specific calls under the cooperation programme there are a number of explicit opportunities arising through other schemes – some of which are far more easily accessible and have the advantage of being open to literally any research idea/topic. Several of these arise through the People programme under the Marie Curie calls and this 40 minute plus Q&A information session seeks to highlight some of these opportunities and identify their pro’s and cons so that a clear strategy can be developed to avoid missing these significant, and relatively easy, opportunities.

Information Session 2 – 10:15am – 12:15pm

How to Approach and Structure your Marie Curie Fellowship Application –  for those possibly intending to submit a bid.

The structure of any bid (partner interactions, methodology synergy etc.) is critical to the success of an application and forward planning is a key element of winning proposals.

If you are thinking of applying this August this session will illustrate the basic approach requirements for success and show how to structure and present your research application in the correct form of “Brusselese”.  A brief, 2 hour, guide to the Marie Curie application process.

Please note: If you are already intending to submit a bid this August then Session 1 will provide very little additional information. Also Grants Academy members who have already attended our Grants Academy 2 Day Bid Writing Workshop will not need to attend Session 1 as this has already been covered in your workshop so we would recommend you book into and attend Session 2 only.

If these are a potential interest to you – don’t miss this exceptional opportunity. Please book in ASAP via Staff Development Booking Link to reserve your space as we anticipate these sessions will be very popular.

 

UK Research Office (UKRO) visit to BU on 27th November 2012

BU welcomed Jo Frost, BU’s named contact for the UK Research Office (UKRO). Jo’s presentation was wide-ranging and hugely informative, outlining the current FP7 scheme and the forthcoming Horizon 2020 scheme, which is still going through the consultation process. It is expected that Horizon 2020 will focus on three priorities: ‘Excellent Science’, ‘Industrial Leadership’ and ‘Societal Challenges’. Jo also introduced the new Erasmus for All scheme.

All the slides from the day are available to BU staff only. These slides include many links to useful sources of information, if you would like to take part in the Horizon 2020 consultation or are planning ahead and want to prepare a submission to the many funding streams within this framework. Jo stressed the need to build networks and many suggestions are included in her presentation. These slides also give detailed information on the proposed budget allocations and themes within the three priority areas.

If you would like to enhance your knowledge of changes to EU funding, please refer to Jo’s slides. You can also contact Corrina Dickson, Paul Lynch, Sarah Katon or Emily Cieciura, who can help you develop your EU submissions.

BU staff can view the slides at: I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\European Related\UKRO 2012 Presentation.

Marie Curie in Horizon 2020 – what will it look like?

As regular EU blog readers will know, I think Marie Curie Fellowships are the perfect way to start your EU career. You can bring a shining talent over from anywhere in the world, from academia or industry to undertake research and you can visit an organisation/ university anywhere in the world to undertake research. Needing only one other partner to be involved, it allows for the establishment of a great contact who can help branch out to networks and also enables you to have some research you are interested in, done.

The final calls for Marie Curie under FP7 are in January 2013 and the scheme is definitely here to stay for Horizon 2020, albeit with  a slightly amended name Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.

 

The programme will contain similar schemes, but these will be banded together and made more simple.

*Innovative Training Networks (ITN) will be aimed at training early stage researchers

*Individual Fellowships (IF) will be aimed at experienced researchers

*Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) will be aimed at the exchange of staff and knowledge transfer

*COFUND will be aimed at stimulating excellence in regional, national and international programmes.

There may also be a pilot strand under the first set of calls released in 2014 within the IF scheme; the Dual Careers Strand. This would enable an applicant with a spouse working in research to apply for funding for their spouse to hold a fellowship either in the host institution or an institution in the host country. This is still in development but is an exciting possible development.

 

Marie Curie Info and Proposal Writing Events

Registration is now open for the ‘Marie Curie Initial Training Networks (ITN) and Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP) General Information and Proposal Writing’ events, organised by the Marie Curie National Contact Point. One is in Edinburgh on 17th September and the other in Warwick on September 27th.

The aim of the sessions is to provide participants with an overview of the Marie Curie Initial Training Networks scheme (ITNs), including the European Industrial Doctorate (EID) Programme and the Innovative Doctoral Programme (IDP), and Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways scheme (IAPP), and with a deeper understanding of the key issues they are required to address in planning and writing a proposal. The Marie Curie ITN call closes on 22 November 2012  and the IAPPs will open on 2 October 2012 and close on 16 January 2013.

Last day for submissions to the Marie Curie Internal Peer Review!

With the  Calls for Proposals   released and the deadline next month, this is your one and only chance to make use of our expert internal peer review of your Marie Curie submission.  I am thrilled that two of our excellent recipients of this funding – Rudy Gozlan and Rob Britton – have agreed to be the reviewers for our specialist RPRS internal peer review panel for the Marie Curie submissions to help you. Rudy and Rob will review yoru draft and give you feedback on any issues they can foresee given their experience and highlight any areas which should be addressed to maximise your chance of success before you submit in August.  You will receive your feedback on July 20th, which gives you plenty of time to tweak your proposal and get it submitted on time. There are no forms to fill in; just save a copy of your application as a PDF/ Word document and email over.

We are very lucky to have such fantastic expertise within our institution so please do take full advantage of it :)

How will Marie Curie Actions look in Horizon 2020?

Regular readers of this EU section of the BU research blog will know how pleased I am that so many of you engage in Marie Curie under FP7. The great news is that it is here to stay for Horizon 2020 although it will be known as Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. For some unknown reason Marie Curie’s Polish maiden name has been incorporated in to this (possibly due to a previously rather senior Polish Presidency overseeing this!). The other good news is that it is set to get even bigger with an increase of funding by 20% and will incorporate the doctoral fellowships currently offered in the Erasmus Mundus Programme.   The bad news is that it is also getting much more competitive. Two years ago the average success rate of Marie Curie was over 30%, now average is 14%. The good news is the UK is the second highest recipient of the funding with the second highest success rate so we are still in a good position.

For those of you unfamiliar with Marie Curie, they are fellowships to support great researchers from anywhere in the world (and include those in industry) to increase their research experience and expertise. You can read more on what Marie Curie actions exist here  and the range of support mechanisms we have for those interested in applying hereIf you know a researcher who would be suitable for a Marie Curie Incoming Fellowship, then do approach them: the UK is the number one destination for the 130 nationality, 60, 000 Marie Curie Fellowship holders, so we are an attractive proposition and if you want to travel to another country, then you can do so with confidence; the UK is the seventh largest participant in this scheme who travel elsewhere in the world. The UK has attracted in the following fellows under the various schemes:

Intra-European Fellowships 894
Initial Training Networks 730
International Incoming Fellowships 279
Industry-Academia Partnerships 241
Co-funding of Regional, National and International Programmes 111
Reintegration Grants 73
International Outgoing Fellowships 73
Career Integration Grants 42
International Reintegration Grants 37
European Reintegration Grants 18

Under Horizon 2020, Marie Curie actions will have a proposed €5.75 billion and all current schemes within the programme will remain pretty much the same, although they have been ‘simplified’ into 4 actions :

1. Early Stage Researcher Fellowships (which will include ITN)

2. Experienced Researcher Fellowships (which will include IEF, IOF, IIF, CIG)

3. Exchange of Staff Fellowships (which will include IAPP, IRSES)

4. Co-Funding Fellowships (which will be COFUND) 

It’s great to see that the EC recognise that if it ain’t broke….

Marie Curie Actions Conference 2012

The EC will be holding a Marie Curie Actions Conference in Dublin on 10-11 July 2012.

The conference will provide participants with some training in areas that can be critical for any researcher such as ‘intellectual property rights’, ‘getting your name in the newspaper’, ‘exploiting social media’, ‘how to draft applications to EU calls’ and ‘speaking confidently to a non-scientific audience’.  The conference will also provide participants with some insights on the future Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions under Horizon 2020. Registration to the Marie Curie Actions Conference also includes entry to the main Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) held in Dublin on 11-15 July, where participants can meet Nobel Prize winners and specialists in their research field – what a great opportunity!

The EU Pod is launched!

In response to feedback from across schools, the R & KE Operations team has been restructured to include a dedicated EU Pod headed up by Paul Lynch.

The pod will assume the post-award management of all current EU projects together with the pre-award management of  future EU applications across all schools and professional services.

 

So, if you’re interested in EU funding but don’t know how to get started with your application contact a member of the EU Pod:

Paul Lynch – Senior R & KE Officer (EU)

Alexandra Peirce – R & KE Officer (EU)

 

 

Thinking of making a Marie Curie submission this August…?

Just a quick reminder of the excellent Marie Curie related resources we at BU to help you with a submission this August:

  • A summarised version of the key points from the draft work programme which also has the evaluation criteria for the call to help you write your submission  in a very targeted way I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Marie Curie Summary
  • Copies of previously awarded Marie Curie proposals on the I drive I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Rudy Gozlan’s Successful Marie Curie Grant applications
  • Tips on writing a proposal from our successful award holders as Rudy Gozlan and Bogdan Gabrys 
  • A specialist Internal Peer Review Panel process for Marie Curies (from successful grant holders) at BU in July
  • There is a EC Marie Curie Info day being hosted by the European Commission in June.
  • Expert Grantwriter Martin Pickards presentation slides on writing a Marie Curie bid I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Marie Curie Training Slides
  •  

I also wanted to remind you that if you are thinking of making a submission, it is imperative to let your R&KEO Senior Officer know as early as possible to enable them to complete the relevant documentation, obtain signed contracts and provide costings etc.

 

Marie Curie Infoday & Proposal Writing Events – Registration Open!

Registration is now open for the Marie Curie Individual Fellowships and Career Integration Grants General Information and Proposal Writing event, organised by the Marie Curie UK National Contact Point. There will be three separate events, each with the same format, which will take place at the following locations:

  • University College London, 10 May 2012;
  • University of Glasgow, 11 May 2012; and 
  • University of Bristol, 23 May 2012.

The aim of the session is to provide participants with an overview of the Marie Curie Individual Fellowships (Intra-European (IEF), International Outgoing (IOF), and International Incoming (IIF)) and the Career Integration Grants (CIG). These sessions will also provide those wishing to submit an application with a deeper understanding of the proposal format and the key issues they are required to address in planning and writing their proposal.
The session will include a presentation on the schemes, highlighting changes that have occurred since the 2011 call. It is also hoped that the session will provide a forum for discussion, and to answer questions that applicants may have relating to these schemes and preparing a proposal.
  
These sessions will last for half a day and are free (you will need to cover your own expenses and travel). Each session will provide an outline of the Marie Curie Actions, specific details on the fellowships and grants action and the application form and guidance on planning and writing your Marie Curie proposal. There will be the opportunity to ask questions throughout the sessions.

To register, please fill in the online registration form available from the Marie Curie NCP website. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis so register quickly!!!

Marie Curie Calls for Proposals officially launched!

Several Marie Curie calls have been finally officially been released today!

Remember to check out my previous blogposts on:

And if you attended our fantastic Marie Curie proposal writing workshop last month, you can send your proposal off to Dr Martin Pickard for one review. I am also currently establishing a specialist Marie Curie RPRS which I will circulate the details of soon.

If you are planning a submission, don’t forget to contact RKE Operations straight away so they can get to work helping you with your costings etc

Looking to recruit a potential Post Doc – Food and Tourism

We are looking for a potential overseas Post Doc to work in the area of Food and Tourism.  In the first instance the candidate would work with collegues to secure the funding for this one or two year post, though we are looking at a funding route with a good success rate.

The specific package of work for the two years will be negotiated depending on the research interests of the candidate and the research team.

So if you have any connections with an individual that might fit the bill please get back to Sean for a chat. (sbeer@bournemouth.ac.uk )

Marie Curie Template Application

A number of you have expressed an interest in seeing a Marie Curie application to get a feel for the form. I have placed a blank version on our I drive so any BU member of staff thinking of submitting can take a look I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Marie Curie Form Template . The forms for all the Marie Curie schemes are similar and therefore only one is provided. The form is strictly for internal BU circulation only.

What’s coming up in the Marie Curie calls? I can tell you….

Last week on the back of our Marie Curie Fellowship training, I posted the forthcoming deadlines for the Marie Curie calls.  I am pleased to reveal that I have managed to obtain a draft copy of the Marie Curie Work Programme which gives a little more detail about this scheme. This document is highly confidential and contains sensitive information which is why I have placed it on our I drive … I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Draft Work Programmes for 2012-13

It is not for circulation outside of BU at all (not even your potential partners!). The final Work Programme will be released in July so I am giving you a great 4 month head start with this. Contact your RKE Operations Team straight away to let them know you are planning to submit in order to prevent any delays and to make full use of all the resources we have at BU to help you with your submission.

Marie Curie deadline dates for 2012 & 2013

I am delighted so many of you found our workshop on submitting a Marie Curie proposal today so useful; the feedback I have already received has been great. I wanted to remind you of the deadline for 2012 calls under this scheme and to prewarn you about call dates anticipated for next year.

  • Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways: 19.04.12 & 15.01.13
  • Intra-European Fellowships: 16.08.12 & 14.08.13
  • International Incoming Fellowships: 16.08.12 & 14.08.13
  • International Outgoing Fellowships: 16.08.12 & 14.08.13
  • COFUND: 05.12.12
  • International Research Staff Exchange Scheme: 17.01.13
  • Career Integration Grants: 18.09.12 & 07.03.13 & 05.09.13
  • Initial Training Networks: 22.11.13
  • Researchers’ Night: 10.01.13

For details about all of these schemes, please consult your Simple Guide to EC Funding (and get in touch with me if you haven’t received your copy). Remember to all of you who attended Martin’s Marie Curie training workshop last week, you are entitled to have him review your submission for this on one occasion. He is in very high demand so to ensure you don’t miss out on this great offer, get your draft to him early and let him know you will be contacting him for a review as early as possible.

Also, as we have had several successes with Marie Curie Fellowships at BU, we will be hosting a special RPRS review service for you, so make sure you take full advantage of all the services we can offer you to help you be successful.

Two fantastic training sessions for EU submissions in February at BU!

I’m delighted to announce that the brilliant Dr Martin Pickard of the company Grantcraft will be returning to Bournemouth in February. Martin has 25 years of winning EU funding and an excellent track record in helping academics write successful proposals.

EU Funding & Grant Writing:With FP7 drafts being released already, I’ve invited Martin to host a one day workshop on EU funding and grant writing, as it is very different from UK funders. I organised this session last year and the feedback we received from staff who attended was excellentI must say it’s a great workshop, which provides us a number of important points we should pay attention to while drafting our proposals.”. This will take place in K103 (Kimmeridge House, Talbot Campus) on February 15th and all refreshments and lunch will be included. Attending this session will also enable you to access Martin’s excellent reviewing skills for your submission until September, which is fantastic.

Marie Curie Fellowships:  These grants are absolutely the best way to kick start your EU career; they have a fantastic success rate for applications (40%) and you only need one other EU partner. You can either apply to have an academic come to the university from Europe or you can go to another European country as part of the fellowship scheme. BU has had success with Marie Curie grants before and Martin is an absolute expert in writing these types of grant. This session will be dedicated to selecting the right grant for you and how to write a fantastic proposal. This will take place in EB203(Exec Business Centre, Lansdowne Campus) on February 16th and all refreshments and lunch will be included. Attending this session will also enable you to access Martin’s excellent reviewing skills for your submission until the official deadline in September.

 

Booking for either day is compulsory as numbers are limited and each day will run 9:30-5 and will include lunch and refreshments. Please register for the event here stating which session you would like to attend (you may attend both if you wish), and stating any dietary requirements and any special arrangements you may require for attending.

Marie Curie calls are coming – register now to get expert help!

It is anticipated that the FP7 Marie Curie Programme will announce its latest calls soon and I want to encourage BU staff to apply. A Marie Curie grant is a great way to begin your EU career as it focuses on researcher mobility and training at all stages and allows you to work with only a single other academic or institute. It also   boasts a high success rate – 40%. You can apply for funding on any topic and for a whole range of activities; basic research, PhDs, Postdoctoral researchers or staff exchanges and you can either apply to work in a European university on your own research project, or apply to have a researcher brought in from abroad to allow you to gain mentoring experience. Fellowships under this scheme usually last for 3 years and support in the region of €33k per year is given to academics going abroad, and to receive a researcher from Europe, BU can receive up to €25k per year.The recent schemes are all listed at the end of this blogpost.

I am proud to say BU staff have successfully gained Marie Curie funding already;  Rudy Gozlan (ApSci) and Bogdan Gabrys (DEC) have shared their experiences on our blog already.

In order to help you get prepared, I’ve organised for an expert Marie Curie bid writer (who has an almost 50% success rate for these proposals) coming in for a one day workshop on February 16th. As well as going through exactly how to write a perfect Marie Curie proposal, he will also review the final draft of your submission for the scheme if you attend the workshop. To find out more, read my recent blogpost and sign up.

Marie Curie Fellowships
Initial Training Networks
  • Aim to improve career perspectives of early-stage researchers through a networking mechanism
  • Direct or indirect involvement of organisations from different sectors is essential
Intra European Fellowships
  • Support career development of experienced researchers at different stages
  • Seeks to enhance their individual competence and diversification in terms of skill acquisition at multi- or interdisciplinary level and/or by undertaking intersectoral experiences
Industry Academia Partnership & Pathways
  • Aim to open and foster dynamic pathways between public research organisations and private commercial enterprises
International Outgoing Fellowships

 

  • Reinforce the international dimension of European researchers by giving opportunity to be trained and acquire new knowledge in a high- level organisation active in research, established in a other third country specific country

 

International Research Staff Exchange Scheme

 

  • Aimed at strengthening research partnerships through staff exchanges and networking activities between European research organisations and organisations from countries with which the EC has an agreement.
  • Also provide support to research organisations to establish or reinforce long- term research cooperation through a coordinated joint programme of exchange of researchers for short periods

 

International Incoming Fellowships

 

  • Reinforce scientific excellence through knowledge sharing with incoming top-class researchers to work on research projects in Europe, with the view to developing mutually-beneficial research co-operation
COFUND

 

  • Aim at broadening or deepening  individual competence, in particular in terms of acquisition of multi- or interdisciplinary skills or having intersectoral experiences, encouraging mobility between public sector organisations and private companies
European Reintegration Grants
  • Individual grants aimed at researchers who have participated in a Marie Curie action for at least two years.
International Reintegration Grants
  • Individual grants which are aimed at researchers who have carried out research outside Europe for at least 5 years and who wish to return to Europe.