Author Archives: Esther KNIGHT

Birmingham, February 18th: MSCA: Bridging Business and Research

Posted on by

logo-birmingham

An event promoting business-academic collaborations under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) scheme is taking place in Birmingham on Wednesday 18 this month.
The European Commission has launched a promotional campaign, aimed mainly at industry and SMEs, to encourage more involvement in MSCA projects from the private sector. The campaign will be running across Europe during the end of this year and the whole first semester of 2015.

  • Birmingham, University of Birmingham: 18 February 2015.

The main objective of this event is to provide more practical information on how to get involved in the MSCA schemes, and to present the latest business opportunities under the new Framework Programme for Research, Horizon 2020. The application process and examples of partnerships will be explained during these information sessions.

The registration website with agenda and practical information is available at the link below.

https://mscabusiness.teamwork.fr/en/registration

Europe for Citizens – Action Grants

Posted on by

int_partner_01_en

 

This programme aims to strengthen remembrance and enhance capacity for civic participation at the European Union level. The programme contributes by developing citizens’ organisations’ capacity to engage citizens in the democratic life of the EU.

The Annual Priorities of the programme for 2015 are:

Strand 1: European remembrance

In the context of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, priority will be given to projects that focus on:

  • World War II and the associated rise of intolerance that enabled crimes against humanity;
  • The consequences of World War II for the post-war architecture of Europe : its division and the Cold war on the one hand, and the beginning of the European integration process following the Schuman Declaration in 1950 on the other hand.

Strand 2: Democratic engagement and civic participation

Debating on the future of Europe : In the current debate on the European Union in times of the economic crisis and following the European elections of May 2014, there is a need to deepen further the discussion on the future of Europe on what kind of Europe citizens want, also stimulating new forms of civic participation whilst reinforcing those existing. This debate should be based on lessons learned from history and consider in particular the concrete achievements of the European Union.

Such debate should not be limited to citizens already supporting the idea of the European Union, but reach out to citizens who have not been involved so far, or who reject the Union outright or put in question its achievements.

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/europe-for-citizens_en

The 2015 Calls are now open with a deadline of 2 March 2015

Specific eligibility criteria apply to the different Strands and actions as follows:

Strand 1 – European remembrance

  • Public local/regional authorities or non-profit organisations, including civil society organisations, survivors’ associations, and cultural, youth, educational and research organisations, associations of twinned towns
  • A project must involve organisations from at least one Member State, but preference is given to transnational projects

Strand 2: Democratic engagement and civic participation (action grants)

Town-Twinning

  • Towns/municipalities or their twinning committees or other non-profit organisations representing local authorities
  • Must involve towns from at least two eligible countries of which at least one is an EU Member State

Networks of Towns

  • Towns/municipalities or their twinning committees or networks, other levels of local/regional authorities, federations/associations of local authorities and non-profit organisations representing local authorities; the other organisations involved in the project can also be non-profit Civil Society Organisations
  • Must involve towns from at least four eligible countries of which at least one is an EU Member State

Civil Society Projects

  • Non-profit organisations, including civil society organisations, educational, cultural or research institutions; the other organisations involved in the project can also be public local/regional authorities
  • Must involve organisations from at least three eligible countries of which at least one is an EU Member State

 

2015 Philip Leverhulme Prizes

Posted on by

1586[1]

 

Philip Leverhulme Prizes recognise the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already won international recognition and whose future is exceptionally promising. In 2015 there are thirty prizes available across six broad subject areas,

Prizes offer £100,000 over two or three years and may be used for any purpose that advances the prize-winner’s research, with the following exceptions: salary costs for the prize-winner, capital costs, and institutional overheads.

In 2015, applications are invited from researchers working in the following subject areas: Classics, Earth Sciences, Physics, Politics and International Relations, Psychology and Visual and Performing Arts. The subject areas are intentionally broad and they encourage applicants to consider which best reflects their area of research, irrespective of their departmental affiliation.

To be eligible, applicants must hold a post in a UK university or research institution and must have received their highest degree no earlier than 14 May 2005 (exceptions will be considered where applicants have had a distinct career break).

Applicants must be nominated by their head of department (or equivalent). Applicants may be nominated in one subject area only. Full details of the nomination process are available on the Leverhulme Trust website.

Closing date: 4pm on 14 May 2015

Guidance and nominations: Full scheme details and the online nomination form are available on the Leverhulme Trust website (http://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/funding/PLP/PLP.cfm?utm_source=jobsac&utm_medium=online&utm_content=psych&utm_campaign=plp)

The prizes commemorate the contribution to the work of the Trust made by Philip Leverhulme, the Third Viscount Leverhulme and grandson of the William Hesketh Lever, the founder of the Trust.

Meet the team

Posted on by

    

The External Projects Team provides information on external funding, partners, and innovation activities. The team works with researchers and academic staff to help diversify income for Staffordshire University. The team is part of the Enterprise and Commercial Development Department.

emma

Emma Davies- External Projects Manager: Emma has responsibility for managing the external projects team to identify and realise funding opportunities which make a significant impact on the university’s income diversification programme in line with Staffordshire University’s vision and corporate plan.

em

Jose Beech- External Grants Manager: Jose leads the team of staff within the External Projects Team, whose focus is to work closely with colleagues across the institution, providing advice, guidance and support on external funding.

ems

Marie Pandolfo- Project Development Manager: Marie is responsible for the ESIF Strategy within the University and developing specific projects with internal and external partners.

3a9d5f5

Samantha Wong- Contracts and Compliance Officer: Samantha provides internal legal support and expertise in the area of contracts research and funding for Staffordshire University.
Stafford-20150126-00060

Margaret Bennett- External Projects Officer: Margaret is responsible for identifying potential research funding opportunities, EU funding projects and works seamlessly with academic colleagues to submit applications to funding bodies.

emmy

Esther Knight- External Projects Officer: Esther advises staff on how to use Research Professional, a service which can be directly used to search funding calls that are open and how to search for grants on projects they wish to develop from Research Councils to Europe – and has particular responsibility for the Faculty of Art and Creative Technologies.

emmee

Holly Hoar- External Projects Officer:(Currently on maternity leave) Holly advises staff on how to use Research Professional, a service which can be directly used to search funding calls that are open and how to search for grants on projects they wish to develop from Research Councils to Europe.

The Leverhulme Trust; Artist in Residence Grants

Posted on by

1586[1]

These awards enable UK universities and museums to foster new creative collaboration with an artist working in a discipline outside the institution’s usual curriculum. There must be a distinct contrast between the artist and the host department’s expertise, for example a poet hosted by a physics department or a composer by a geography department.

Applications should be submitted by an employee of the host institution who will act as the host for the artist and coordinate the residency and all related activities. They should name a specific artist, who may be a visual artist, creative writer, musician, poet or other producer of creative work, in the application.

Grants are worth up to £15,000 and typically support a 10-month period, during which the artists are present at the institution for two days per week. They include artists’ stipends of up to £12,500, which may cover travel expenses, consumable costs and materials of up to £2,500.

Application details are expected to be available from late spring 2015 from here:

http://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/funding/AIR/AIR.cfm

Call for proposals to present events at the Cheltenham Science and Literature Festivals

Posted on by

imagesCA8ZYYWP

To mark its tenth anniversary in 2015, the AHRC is looking to extend its partnership with Cheltenham Festivals by inviting applications from researchers to present their research at one of a series of four engaging public events at the Times Cheltenham Science Festival and the Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2015. One event will run at the Science Festival, and three at the Literature Festival.

Cheltenham Festivals is the charitable organisation behind the town’s internationally acclaimed Jazz (opens in a new window), Science (opens in a new window), Music (opens in a new window) and Literature (opens in a new window) Festivals. Through cutting edge and creative programming, Cheltenham’s four festivals have provided a platform for debate and commentary from writers, performers, scientists, musicians and scholars across the world.

Up to twenty successful applicants will have a chance to develop their event ideas with experienced Cheltenham Festival producers and members of the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement team at a dedicated workshop. Of these, up to four will have the chance to hold their event at one of the Festivals.

A workshop held on 23rd February 2015 will focus on the Science and Literature festivals. The selected researchers will benefit from a unique opportunity to work closely with the Cheltenham Festival producers to create interactive and engaging events, invite high profile speakers, where relevant, and ultimately share their research with a public audience.

We welcome applications from individual researchers or project teams with one lead applicant, working in all areas of the arts and humanities. The topics of the proposed events should fall within one of the disciplines within the AHRC’s remit.

The aim of the scheme is to provide a development opportunity for researchers to cultivate the skills to communicate their research findings to those outside the academic community. The scheme aims to find academics that can bring the best of the latest research to life to a broad audience in an interactive and engaging manner.

Applications should demonstrate an engaging and stimulating event idea but also demonstrate an ability to present in an accessible and refreshing manner, with awareness of a festival audience.

Further information is available in the call document (PDF 92KB, opens in a new window). Please read this carefully before submitting an application.

Erasmus+ Sport Infoday – 11 February 2015 in Brussels

Posted on by
index
Registration is now open for the Erasmus+ Sport Infoday, which will be organised by the European Commission and the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) on 11 February 2015 in Brussels .

The aim of this event is to explain the funding opportunities available under the Erasmus+: Sport Call in the following types of actions:

  • Collaborative partnerships;
  • Not-For-Profit European Sport Events; and
  • Sport.

Speakers will give advice and tips on preparing and submitting proposals, and provide support with the financial aspects of funding.

Participation in the Infoday will be restricted to a maximum of two individuals per organisation and those who will not be able to attend in person can follow the proceedings online via a web stream.

See event websitem with draft agenda
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/events/11-february-2015-sport-infoday_en

Registration form

http://sportinfoday.teamwork.fr/en/registration

 

ELOs and Sponsors

Humanities opportunities in Europe – invitation

Posted on by

esrc

Date: 18 February 2015, 9.30-12.30
Location: Polaris House, North Star Avenue Swindon, SN2 1UJ

An event highlighting European funding opportunities specifically targeted at Arts and Humanities Researchers, led by the UK National Contact Points in conjunction with the Arts and Humanities Council (AHRC).

Talks will be presented on these areas:

  • Introduction to Arts and Humanities funding opportunities in Europe (AHRC)
    An overview of international funding opportunities offered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, including Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA) and International Co-investigator.
  • Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MCSA)
    MCSA are part of the ‘Excellence’ Pillar within Horizon 2020 and support international and inter-sectoral mobility of researchers, with a strong focus on careers and skills development. They operate on a completely bottom-up basis, with no pre-defined priority areas and are open to Social Sciences and Humanities. There are MSCA grants for all stages of a researcher’s career, from PhD candidates to highly experienced researchers. Some of the schemes are aimed at individual researchers (Individual Fellowships). Others are aimed at institutions (ITN, RISE, COFUND).
  • European Research Council (ERC) funding
    The ERC is part of Horizon 2020 and aims to stimulate research excellence by supporting and encouraging the very best, truly creative scientists from all areas, including SHH. ERC grants support individual researchers of any nationality and age who wish to pursue their frontier research. In their ERC grants, researchers are encouraged to go beyond established frontiers of knowledge and the boundaries of disciplines.
  • Research Infrastructures (including e-infrastructures) (PDF, 252Kb)
    Research infrastructures are facilities, resources and services that are used by research communities to conduct research and foster innovation in their fields. Where relevant, they may be used beyond research, eg for education or public services. The Research Infrastructures Programme creates opportunities for research facilities and scientists to collaborate across disciplines and countries, as well as create platforms where science and industry can come together.
  • Social Sciences and Humanities embedded across H2020 (PDF, 789Kb)
    As a horizontal activity, social science and humanities research is fully integrated into each of the pillars of H2020 and each of the specific objectives with significant funding available but also as an essential element for the activities needed to enhance industrial leadership and to tackle each of the societal challenges.
  • Europe in a Changing World: Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies (PDF, 259Kb)
    Programme is structured as five separate calls and opportunities that aim to support projects that will give Europe a cutting edge or sufficient resilience in facing the current and future difficulties affecting its development.
  • Science with and for Society (PDF, 510Kb)Science with and for Society
    Science with and for Society activities are intended to build capacities and develop innovative ways of connecting science to society. It will make science more attractive (especially to young people), raising the appetite of society for science and innovation and open up further research and innovation activities.
  • Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation
    The ‘Spreading excellence and widening participation’ strand of Horizon 2020 aims to enhance competitiveness by engaging with those who could commit more towards the EU research and innovation effort.

Further details and a form to apply to attend can be found here

http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/funding-opportunities/international-funding/humanities-opportunities-europe-invitation.aspx

Rosalind Franklin award and lecture – women in STEM

Posted on by

2014-03-13-Royal-Society-Logo

The Royal Society invites nominations for the Rosalind Franklin award and lecture. This is awarded to support the promotion of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the UK.

The nominee should be an individual in mid-career, with up to 20 years post-PhD or equivalent.

The award includes a grant of £30,000, a proportion of which must be used to implement a project to raise the profile of women in STEM in their host institution or field of expertise in the UK. The winner is also invited to deliver a lecture at the society.

Closing date: January 30th

https://royalsociety.org/awards/rosalind-franklin-award/

Computer science: Milner award

Posted on by

2014-03-13-Royal-Society-Logo

The Royal Society, supported by Microsoft Research, invites nominations for the Milner award. This recognises a European researcher for outstanding achievements in computer science.

Nominees should be active researchers in any area of computer science. They should have been resident in Europe for at least 12 months prior to the nomination. Full-time employees of Microsoft Research or self-nominations are not accepted.

The award includes £5,000 and an invitation to deliver a public lecture at the society.

https://royalsociety.org/awards/milner-award/

Closing date: 30th January 2015