Philip Leverhulme Prizes

Posted on January 9, 2014 by BENNETT Margaret

Philip Leverhulme Prizes recognise the achievement of early career researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising. The prize scheme makes up to thirty awards of £100,000 a year, across a range of academic disciplines. The 2014 round opens on 6 January 2014 and closes to nominations on 14 May 2014.

For the 2014 competition the selected subject areas are:

Biological Sciences
History
Law
Mathematics and Statistics
Philosophy and Theology
Sociology and Social Policy

Each Prize has a value of £100,000 which may be used over a two or three year period. Prizes can be used for any purpose which can advance the prize-holder’s research, with the exception of enhancing the prize-holder’s salary.

The Prize is available over two or three years.

Please read the following before submitting a nomination.

Fo further information go to: http://leverhulme.ac.uk/funding/PLP/PLP.cfm?utm_source=FUNDING+BULLETIN&utm_campaign=2189d99bd6-FB_NOV_13&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_06df278404-2189d99bd6-78732765

Erasmus + calls now launched

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Josephine Beech

The successor of the Life Long Learning Programme, Erasmus + has now published its first calls for proposals. Staffordshire University has successfully applied for the “Erasmus Charter” a pre requisite of applying for the programme and there are now open calls. A summary of these can be found with indicative budgets and call deadlines below.

You can link to the programme document for more detail ERASMUS + Programme Guide

BUDGET

Education and training	:	EUR 1 305,3 million
Youth	:	EUR 174,2 million
Jean Monnet	:	EUR 11,2 million
Sport	:	EUR 16,6 million

Key Action 1

Mobility of individuals in the field of education, training and youth (all)	17 March 2014
Mobility of individuals in the field of youth only	30 April 2014
Mobility of individuals in the field of youth only	1 October 2014
Joint master degrees	27 March 2014
Large-scale European voluntary service events	3 April 2014

Key Action 2

Strategic partnerships in the field of education, training and youth (all)	30 April 2014
Strategic partnerships in the field of youth only	1 October 2014
Knowledge alliances, sector skills alliances	3 April 2014
Capacity building in the field of youth	3 April 2014 2 September 2014

The external projects team will be disseminating this information across the University, but if you would like any further information please get in touch with the team at externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk

UKRO and H2020 is now Launched!!

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Josephine Beech

Hurrah!! At last all of the next Horizon 2020 proposals have been released. Following a great UKRO session yesterday with Eevi from the Brussels office (see pic below) the External Projects Team hosted a great day long programme of presentations on Erasmus + and the H2020 calls. We have been anticipating the launch which happened yesterday and we are now in the process of producing briefing sheets to help you to digest all of the information, but in the meantime you can access all of the latest info from the Commission HERE

The Closed Loop Building Materials Facility

Posted on December 12, 2013 by nl6

View a YouTube video demonstrating the Closed Loop Building Facility

The closed-loop system invented by Professor Michael Anderson and his team provides a method of producing high quality sustainable building products from previously unusable-quality waste glass. Using this innovative process he can produce paving slabs, external wall cladding-slips, floor tiles and construction blocks. Not only are the products themselves green, but the brick-slip product offer considerable building scope as when combined with a highly insulating backing-panel structure, the system can be used as ‘over-cladding’, thereby greatly improving the insulation of non-cavity wall Victorian/Edwardian dwellings. At the same time the visual appearance of the original structures can be preserved, as the slips can be manufactured to match the appearance of the original early brickwork. Thus allowing look-alike appearances to be maintained, this will help to contribute to the solution of preserving our heritage.

The process could also be very useful in urbanising and developing countries where rapidly growing populations are creating vast amounts of waste glass which is being dumped in landfill but which could actually be used in environmentally friendly construction projects. This would be particularly useful for tourist islands which import thousands if not millions of drink bottles every year and have to pay very high prices to then have them shipped off the island, but which could be used to regenerate existing holiday resorts.

Finally, the process itself is self-sustaining. Unlike clay and concrete, the recycled glass products can be easily disassembled at the end of their life and recycled back into new building materials again and again and could change the entire way we think about building. This promises to make a significant contribution to sustainability in the future!

The project was recently shortlisted for the IET Awards which celebrates the very best innovations in Science, Engineering and Technology and attracts over 400 entries from over 30 Countries with only 74 finalists being selected.

If you are interested in the project and would like to investigate further opportunities to how this could be scaled up and have potential to be commercialised please contact the team at the Office of Sustainability via sustainability@staffs.ac.uk or phone 01782 295837.

Sustainable Society Network

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Holly Hoar

This small fund targets Early Career Researchers. It can be applied to at anytime and is looking for cross disciplinary work around digital technologies and sustainability, which makes it a good fit to a number of research areas in the University.

Funding Body: Sustainable Society Network

Scheme: Small Grants open call

Overview: Small grants provide funding for projects, or other activities, that lead to, or support, cross-disciplinary collaboration in the use of digital technologies to promote and support a sustainable society. The applications should address the “three pillars” (UN, 2005) or “triple bottom line” (Elkington, 1994) of sustainability – social, economic, and environmental. These will be up to 3 months in duration and are designed to test new ideas or create novel linkages between research areas.

We encourage applications led by early career researchers (defined as within 5 years of their PhD submission).

resource consumption (e.g. water, waste, and energy)
environmental degredation and contamination (e.g. air, soil, noise, water)
local and national transport, water, waste, and energy, and ICT infrastructures
architecture, landscape architecture, town and country planning, building science
national and international supply chains
rural and urban enterprise infrastructures
support health and wellbeing (this call will NOT fund clinical trials)
social infrastructure support mechanisms
sustainable prosperity
safety and emergency services
environmental and engineering policy

Budget: Funding for 80% of a project costing up to £3,000 is available for applications led by staff from UK universities and research organisations

Deadlines: The fund closes on the first of every month (but will shut on the 15^th for the January call)

Further Information: http://sustainablesocietynetwork.net/open-call-submissions/

ESRC: Empathy and Trust In Communicating Online (EMoTICON) Sandpit

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

6-10 January 2014 (Cranage Hall, Cheshire)

The Economic and Social Research Council invites expressions of interest from eligible individuals for an intensive, five-day interactive commissioning workshop (sandpit) from 6-10 January 2014, being held at Cranage Hall in Cheshire.

ESRC, in partnership with AHRC, EPSRC, Dstl and CPNI, is commissioning new research to develop a greater understanding of how empathy and trust are developed, maintained, transformed and lost in social media interactions.

In order to develop innovative approaches and stimulate genuinely transdisciplinary collaborations, the ESRC is commissioning projects via a sandpit. The aim of the sandpit is to bring together researchers and other partners to create projects that will develop theoretically-informed and empirically-derived understandings of the workings of empathy and trust in online contexts and communities.

This call is intended to attract participants from across the full range of social sciences, arts and humanities, and engineering and physical sciences. The ESRC is particularly looking for people with particular personal attributes – creativity, openness, and the ability to work effectively as part of a team. A willingness to engage with policymakers, community organisations, government agencies, businesses and other key stakeholders is also essential.

Full-time and part-time scholars at UK-based research organisations (ROs) can apply. A mix of researchers at different career stages is also sought. The sandpit is aimed at early- and mid-career researchers as well as those in senior academic posts. We regret that, on this occasion, PhD students and scholars based overseas are not eligible to participate in the sandpit.

The sandpit is an intensive residential event and participants must attend all five days of the event. By submitting an application form, you are confirming that you are available for the full five days of the sandpit.

The closing date for expressions of interest is 11.00 on 11 November 2013. Applications from interested candidates should be submitted via the electronic application form.

Further Information

For further information, please contact:

Theresa Osman
Email: theresa.osman@esrc.ac.uk
Telephone: (01793) 413052
Christina Rowley
Email: christina.rowley@esrc.ac.uk
Telephone: (01793) 413133

H2020 Nanotech Brokerage Event : 19-20 November – Brussels

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

www.errin.eu

The ERRIN Network in collaboration with Saxony-Anhalt is organising a two day event on Nanotechnology.

Starting with a Policy event on Nanotech and synergies on 19^th November, organized by Saxony-Anhalt, and followed by a joint networking cocktail; this is an opportunity for participants to meet and start the discussing project proposals.

On the following day 20^th November, ERRIN is organising a brokerage event where participants will have the opportunity to develop project proposals and build consortia.

The aim of the two day event is to give the opportunity to participants of getting a Policy overview which can contribute to new ideas and projects on the second day.

The Venue for both days: Saxony-Anhalt EU Office: Boulevard St. Michel 80 1040 Brussels.

More Details:

– The event on 19^th November focuses on nanotech-related policies, networking with European Commission staff and between ERRIN members;

– The event on 20^th November will focus on the Call/Topics with a deadline in 2014. In attachment the latest draft of the Work Programme: a new version may become available before the meeting;

– Participants can prepare by identifying which topics they would like to participate in and which topics they may become involved in as a partner.

Please fill out this WEBFORM in order to Register by indicating which Event/Session and Topic are you interested in

Looking to collaborate with the US?

Posted on October 14, 2013 by ejd2

The British Council are running the Global Innovation Initiative which will providing funding for university research collaborations between the UK and US working with either Brazil, China, Indonesia or India. Science, technology, engineering and mathematical research issues of global significance will be supported through this scheme. The research competition opens on 28^th October, with a deadline of 16^th December.

Academics interested in applying are encouraged to contact their potential partners now to prepare for the call launch. Only 20 grants are expected to be supported, with project values proposed between £100,000 – £150,000.

The goals of the scheme are:

To increase the global mobility of students, researchers, faculty, and higher education administrators from the U.S., the UK, and other countries;
To develop a cadre of people in the U.S., UK, and other countries who have the international experience, outlook and knowledge to confront global challenges and operate in a global context;
To encourage international collaborations that develop capacity across a range of universities in the U.S., the UK, and other countries;
To forge university and business linkages that support a globally mobile talent pool and a multinational base for the exchange of discovery and innovation.

Further information: http://global-innovation-initiative.org/

Please contact externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk if you are developing a proposal for this call.

EPSRC-NIHR Healthcare Technology Call

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Josephine Beech

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) are inviting network proposals to enable collaborations between academia and the 8 National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR) funded Healthcare Technology Cooperatives (HTCs). Each network proposal must be led by an academic at an eligible institution and can be up to £150K (80% FEC) for a maximum duration of 3 years – an investment of up to £1.2M from EPSRC to fund up to 8 EPSRC – NIHR HTC partnership awards.

Each proposal must have support from at least one of the HTCs (but no more than 3). The closing date is the 7th January 2014. The funding avaliable is £150k for a maximum of 3 years at 80% FEC.

For more information Click HERE

Staffordshire University Research and Funding Blog

Category Archives: Sciences

The Closed Loop Building Materials Facility

Sustainable Society Network

H2020 Nanotech Brokerage Event : 19-20 November – Brussels