Category Archives: Computing, Engineering and Sciences

EPSRC Autonomous Manufacturing research call

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The EPSRC invites Expressions of Interest to bid into the call for research proposals in Autonomous Manufacturing. The aim of the call is to support research that addresses the research challenges that underpin autonomous manufacturing.

The expected outcome of this call is a diverse set of research programmes that span manufacturing applications, processes, and value sectors, that exploit novel and adventurous research for the advancement of autonomous production technologies and systems in the factory environment.

EPSRC are committing up to £10M for this call to support multidisciplinary research programmes of up to five years with flexible funding (similar to that provided through EPSRC platform and programme grants) that can be used for a mixture of multidisciplinary research projects, feasibility studies and networking and outreach activities.

This first stage of the call seeks expressions of interest to submit a full proposal. The submitted expressions of interests will be assessed at a short-listing panel in May 2015 and those that align appropriately with the scope for this call will be invited for the full proposal stage. The deadline for full proposals will be in July 2015 and funding decisions are expected to be made in November 2015.

http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/files/funding/calls/2015/autonomousmanufacturing/

This call invites Expressions of Interest (EoIs) which will be assessed at a short-listing panel. Short-listed applicants will then be invited to submit full proposals.

Activity Date/Time
Call launched on web (EoI stage) 02 February 2015
Closing date for EoIs 16:00, 16 April 2015
Short-listing panel Early May 2015
Call opens in J-eS (Full proposal stage) End May 2015
Closing date for full proposals End July 2015
Postal peer review Aug-Oct 2015
Assessment (interview) panel November 2015

£10 million HEFCE fund to support collaborative research on policing and crime reduction

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On 28 January 2015, HEFCE announced a new £10 million Police knowledge Fund, administered via its Catalyst Fund and supported jointly with the Home Office.

Established in partnership with the College of Policing, the fund will encourage police forces to collaborate with experts from academic fields such as criminology, economics, neuroscience and computer analytics in order to better understand crimes, to develop innovative ways of policing and more responses to crime.

The call has not been released yet, however more information are expected in due course on the HEFCE website: please click here.

Major Research Fellowships in the Humanities and Social Sciences

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1586[1]Providing replacement teaching costs over two or three years, to allow academics in the humanities and social sciences to focus on a specific piece of original research.

These awards enable well-established and distinguished researchers in the humanities and social sciences to devote themselves to a single research project of outstanding originality and significance, capable of completion within two or three years. Candidates should state explicitly what the proposed outcomes of the award will be. Fellowships are particularly aimed at those who are or have been prevented by routine duties from completing a programme of original research.

Value

The Fellowships fund the salary costs (normally starting at the most junior point of the lecturer scale at the institution concerned) of an individual to undertake the normal duties of the applicant for the duration of the Fellowship.

A Major Research Fellow may also request research expenses up to an annual maximum of £5,000.

The closing date for applications is 7 May 2015

Duration

The duration of a Fellowship is for two or three years, to start at the beginning of the 2016/17 academic year.

Eligibility and application information

Please read the following before submitting an application.

Contact

Nicola Thorp (020 7042 9872).

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

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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

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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

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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.

Wanted: new products in wearable technologies

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Businesses are encouraged to address six contest challenges in wearable technologies across the fields of sport and wellbeing, entertainment, hospitality, health and safety, accessibility and design.

Innovate UK will support six businesses up to £35,000 for developing their innovative solution. Successful candidates will trial their technology with major industry players while keeping their intellectual property, as well as receiving promotion, support and advice to speed up the commercialisation of their solution.

To access the challenges, please go to https://interact.innovateuk.org/competition-display-page/-/asset_publisher/RqEt2AKmEBhi/content/wearable-technologies?p_p_auth=HWhVfj5m

Closing deadline: 10th March 2015.

Horizon 2020: Fast Track to Innovation Pilot

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The Fast Track to Innovation pilot supports projects from the demonstration stage through to market uptake.

A wide range of activities will be supported including piloting, test-beds, systems validation in real world/working conditions, validation of business models, advanced R&D, standard-setting and advanced performance testing.

The scheme targets relatively mature new technologies. Concepts, processes and business models that need a last development step to reach the market and achieve wider deployment are the focus.

The total budget for FTI in 2015 is EUR 100 million, which will be divided equally among the three cut-off dates in April, September and December. The EC plans to fund 50-70 projects each year and it is expected that the scheme is going to be extremely competitive.

FTI is open to all types of participants, including universities, RTOs, SMEs, large companies, incubators, first time applicants, etc.

Consortia must be comprised of three to five beneficiaries from different Member States or Associated Countries, with significant industry participation.

No typical commercial activities (including marketing activities) will be supported due to EU competition rules but funding can be used to improve an existing marketing strategy to help maximise impact (i.e. developing the marketing strategy to include more countries, etc).

All proposals must include a business plan that clearly describes the market potential and business opportunities for participants, in addition to measures to enhance the probability of potential commercial take-up as well as a credible commercialisation strategy.

Maximum project duration will be 36 months with a maximum EU contribution of EUR 3 million. The Commission expects that the average project duration will be 12-24 months.

Deadlines:
29/04/2015, 01/09/2015, 01/12/2015

For further information go to: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/fast-track-innovation-pilot-2015-2016

The Royal Society International Exchanges Scheme

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The Royal Society invites applications for its international exchanges scheme to stimulate new collaborations within the natural sciences between scientists in the UK and overseas. It will support a one-off visit or bilateral travel but is not intended to support any existing or recent research collaborations.

The scheme covers all areas of the life and physical sciences, including engineering but not clinical medicine.

Both the UK and partner country project leader must have completed a PhD or have experience at an equivalent level, as well as holding a permanent or fixed term contract for the duration of the award at an eligible university or research institute in their country.

Collaborations should be based on a single project and travel can only take place between the UK and the country where the collaborator is based.

The following types of grants are available:

  • up to £3,000 for one-off travel lasting up to three months
  • up to £6,000 for multiple visits to be completed within one year, including a maximum of £1,000 for consumables
  • up to £12,000 for multiple visits to be completed within two years, including a maximum up £2,000 for research expenses

As part of the International Exchanges, the Society now offers additional funding through its Kan Tong Po Fellowships which has been made possible through the generosity of the family of the late Mr Kan Tong Po. The purpose of this scheme is to award Visiting Fellowships to UK or US based scientists to collaborate at the highest level with a Hong Kong based academic, or for Hong Kong based scientists to collaborate with an academic based in either the UK or US.

In addition to the exchange grants, candidates may apply for the Colin Pillinger international exchanges award, which is worth £1,000. This enables the scientists to communicate their research to the general public.

Deadlines on: 17 February 2015, 17 June 2015, 14 October 2015.

For further information go to:

https://royalsociety.org/grants/schemes/international-exchanges/

The Leverhulme Trust; Artist in Residence Grants

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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