Industry Fellowship

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This scheme is for academic scientists who want to work on a collaborative project with industry and for scientists in industry who want to work on a collaborative project with an academic organisation.

It aims to enhance knowledge transfer in science and technology between those in industry and those in academia in the UK.

The scheme provides a basic salary for the researcher and a contribution towards research costs.

The scheme is funded by the Royal Society, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Natural Environment Research Council, Rolls-Royce plc and BP plc.

The scheme covers all areas of the life and physical sciences, including engineering but excluding clinical medicine.

The applicant must:

  • have a PhD or be of equivalent standing in their profession
  • hold a permanent post in a university, not-for-profit research organisation or industry in the UK
  • be at a stage in their career when they would particularly benefit from establishing or strengthening personal or corporate links between academia and industry as a foundation for long-term collaboration and development

Applications involving spin-offs or small companies are encouraged. Applicants should clearly state how the fellowship will benefit the not-for-profit research organisation, especially in cases where the applicant has financial involvement within the company. Applicants should also state which complementary skills the employees at the company can offer.

Applicants should ensure that they meet all the eligibility requirements, which can be viewed in scheme notes (PDF).

The applicant’s basic salary is provided while on secondment but the employing organisation continues to pay national insurance and pension contributions.

Research expenses may be claimed up to the value of £2,000 per year. Awards can be for any period up to two years full-time or a maximum of four years pro rata. (i.e. an award could be held at 50% part-time for four years enabling fellows to maintain links with their employing institution more easily).

For further information go to https://royalsociety.org/grants/schemes/industry-fellowship/

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Erasmus + Event

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The External Projects Team led a workshop this week in the Ashley Centre, over 25 staff from across the institution attended to hear about the new EU funding programme for education and youth, ERASMUS+. This new programme replaces the old Life Long Learning Programme as well as Erasmus Mundus, Tempus, Asia Link, Youth in Action and Edulink. The team were joined by our Erasmus Co-ordinator Deb Graddon who shared the latest news on our Key Action 1 bid (mobility of staff and student from SU) and Abdel Hamid Soliman who gave a great overview of a current Erasmus Mundus project PEACE.

If you are interested in this programme, there are a number of ways to find out more, you can access all of the current calls for proposals in the Programme Guide or if you would like access to the slides from the day, please email us at externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk

 

 

 

 

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Costs in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court: Considering conduct of the parties when assessing costs – Access to Justice?

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Please find attached an interesting short article (following the previous Blog of 26 March 2014 herein) on the issue of costs in the recent case for making groundless threats of infringement of patent (contrary to section 70 of the Patents Act 1977), that was brought against Mr Perry.

Mr Perry apparently on 26 March 2014 circulated a letter purportedly written by ‘Mr Justice Hacon’; bizarrely reversing the decision in the proceedings. What happens in relation to costs in the light of this and other ‘intemperate’conduct as classified by the Judge?

One of the reasons the IPEC has been celebrated as a great success in terms of Access to Justice for Intellectual Property litigants, small businesses and individuals alike, is that win, lose or draw, the costs cap is set at £50,000.00. The IPEC has been a successful model Court because of the constraint put on costs – can a party’s conduct lead to release of such constraint?

The Judge indicated that the circulation of the purported letter by Mr Perry was a further example of ‘intemperate and eccentric behaviour’ (paragraph 14) in the conduct of of those proceedings; however it is difficult (in the view of the writer) to discern when the conduct of a party becomes ‘truly exceptional’ having regard to the conduct of the parties when assessing costs. Judge Hacon’s decision, notably paragraphs 10 to 17 (under the heading ‘Departure from the costs cap and scale of costs’) explains why in this case the total award of costs against Mr Perry was not granted above the cap of £50,000.00.

Further Judgment of Judge Hacon of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) dated 2 April 2014

http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWHC/IPEC/2014/979.html&query=brundle+and+v+and+perry&method=boolean

IPKat Blog discussing the above costs decision:

http://ipkitten.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/forging-new-path-cost-caps-and-contrary.html

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Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND Seminar – April 30th 2014

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In its capacity as UK National Contact Point for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, UKRO  announces a seminar on the Horizon 2020 COFUND scheme.

COFUND offers co-funding for new or existing regional, national and international programmes to open up to:

 

  • International, intersectoral and interdisciplinary research training; and
  • Transnational and cross-sectoral mobility of researchers at all stages of their career.

COFUND in Horizon 2020 has a new element to it, as there are now two funding streams: one supporting experienced researchers through a ‘Fellowship programme’ and the second supporting early stage researchers through a ‘Doctoral programme’.
The first COFUND call under Horizon 2020 is due to open on 10 April 2014, with a deadline for proposals on 2 October 2014.

Wednesday, 30 April Queen Mary University of London Mile End Road London, E1 4NS

This seminar will provide participants with a better understanding of the COFUND scheme and its requirements, including the new doctoral training option. It will combine discussion on the objectives of COFUND and its fit within the wider postgaduate researcher training landscape in the UK, along with practical information on proposal preparation, submission and finances. The seminar will also feature a case study from previous successful COFUND applicants.

The event will run from 10.30 to 16.00 with a lunch break.

Please note that lunch will not be provided. For more details, please see link to the draft programme. 140430_programme_draft_cofund

This seminar is aimed at organisations – universities, government departments, funding councils, charities – who manage research and/or researcher training funds and are interested to learn more about the COFUND scheme as a way to leverage Horizon 2020 funding to support research fellowship and/or doctoral training schemes.
Registration

Attendance is free of charge but capacity at the venue is limited and places will therefore be allocated on a first come first served basis.

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European Health Programme

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The European Commission has approved funding for a new programme for health. This programme could be of interest to researchers in the University involved in health based research. The objectives of this fund are to:

  • strengthen action to promote health and prevent diseases;
  • be better prepared to protect citizens against health emergencies and to coordinate action at European level to address them;
  • increase the up-take of innovation in health; and
  • improve people’s access to medical expertise and information for specific conditions; and improve healthcare quality and patient safety.

It is expected that the first calls for proposals will come out by early May 2014. It is expected that they will launch an annual call for proposals.

The funders will cover between 60-80% of project costs, so projects will require a degree of match funding.

Universities are eligible to apply. The fund will include action grants that contribute to the cost of joint transnational projects; and plus tenders for public procurement contracts.

More details on this programme can be found here http://ec.europa.eu/health/programme/policy/2014-2020/state_of_play_en.htm

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Info Day: http://ec.europa.eu/health/programme/events/info_day_2014_en.htm

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Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND Seminar

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In its capacity as UK National Contact Point for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, UKRO is pleased to announce a seminar on the Horizon 2020 COFUND scheme. COFUND offers co-funding for new or existing regional, national and international programmes to open up to:

  • International, intersectoral and interdisciplinary research training; and
  • Transnational and cross-sectoral mobility of researchers at all stages of their career.

COFUND in Horizon 2020 has a new element to it, as there are now two funding streams: one supporting experienced researchers through a ‘Fellowship programme’ and the second supporting early stage researchers through a ‘Doctoral programme’.
The first COFUND call under Horizon 2020 is due to open on 10 April 2014, with a deadline for proposals on 2 October 2014.

Date and venue

Wednesday, 30 April Queen Mary University of London Mile End Road London, E1 4NS

Seminar format

This seminar aims to provide participants with a better understanding of the COFUND scheme and its requirements, including the new doctoral training option. The seminar will combine discussion on the objectives of COFUND and its fit within the wider postgaduate researcher training landscape in the UK, along with practical information on proposal preparation, submission and finances. The seminar will also feature a case study from previous successful COFUND applicants.
The event will run from 10.30 to 16.00, with a lunch break. Please note that lunch will not be provided.

Registration

Attendance is free of charge but capacity at the venue is limited and places will therefore be allocated on a first come first served basis. Contact the external projects team at externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk if you are interested in attending.

 

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JPI Cultural Heritage – Heritage Plus call

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JPI on Cultural Heritage and global change

A new funding opportunity has been announced by the Joint Programming Initiative in Cultural Heritage and Global Change for transnational proposals in the area of cultural heritage.

This Heritage Plus call is designed to generate new, research-based knowledge to promote the sustainable use and management of cultural heritage, thereby meeting societal challenges and contributing to the development of society.
The call aims to fund excellent collaborative, transnational, interdisciplinary, innovative R&D projects focussed mainly on tangible cultural heritage research, while not excluding the interlinked aspects of intangible and digital heritage.
                                                                                                                                      The call will support projects across three broad topics:
  • Safeguarding tangible cultural heritage and its associated intangible expressions
  • Sustainable strategies for protecting and managing cultural heritage
  • Use and re-use of all kinds of cultural heritage

Only researchers based in countries that have committed to the Heritage Plus call can apply for funding. These are:

Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France,  Israel,  Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,  Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Additional funding is being provided by the European Commission.

The Heritage Plus call will support well-defined, interdisciplinary and collaborative R&D projects that maximize the value of research outcomes.

The deadline for submission of the pre-proposals is 28 April 2014.

The total budget for the call is around 9 million EUROS

Duration of projects: up to 36 months

Each project must comprise of at least three research teams, each based in an eligible institution in a different country participating in the Heritage Plus call. The maximum number of teams in a project is five.

For further information go to: http://www.jpi-culturalheritage.eu/wp-content/uploads/Announcement-for-Heritage-Plus-post-3rd-March.pdf

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Sport and recreation in open spaces: Use of land for recreational purposes ‘as of right’ for the local inhabitants?

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Further to a recent enquiry from a University colleague about the forthcoming appeal in Barkas v North Yorkshire County Council, (registration of a town or village green under the Commons Act 2006) the Appeal (in the Supreme Court today) contains (in the view of the writer) a short point:

What is the legal status of use made by the public (or local inhabitants) of a recreation ground provided pursuant to an express statutory power (a raft of public statutes dating back to the Public Health Act 1875 and earlier – the last station on the branch line being the Commons Act 2006), and whether the use could be use ‘as of right’?

Application had been made by either North Yorkshire County Council or Scarborough Council to build houses and other local amenities on the playing field (at Helredale, Whitby). What are the conferred rights on the local inhabitants to ‘indulge in lawful sport and pastimes’? When does a statutory right or licence to use a ‘recreation ground’ arise? Those in the neighbourhood and inhabitants, having enforceable rights to use a recreation or sports ground, the question of when and how that right (by licence, trust or otherwise) arises, is core to this appeal.

This appeal runs today and tomorrow, and should be of great interest to those promoting Sport and Exercise in Education and to the public, and those interested in Public and administrative law.

First Instance decision:

http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2011/3653.html&query=barkas&method=boolean

Court of Appeal decision:

http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1373.html&query=barkas&method=boolean

The live hearing in the Supreme Court today:

http://news.sky.com/info/supreme-court

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Social Sciences and Humanities in Horizon 2020

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Conference: ‘Achieving Impact – SSH in Horizon 202

http://www.achievingimpact2014.eu/node/18

The presentations from the ‘Achieving Impact – Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities in Horizon 2020’ conference, which took recently place in Athens, have been published on the conference website.

Organised by the NET4SOCIETY, the network of National Contact Points for research in the field of Social Sciences and Humanities, the ‘Achieving Impact’ conference brought together researchers, research support staff and stakeholder organisations to discuss and exchange good practice in achieving impact in Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities research.
The conference also featured brokerage and information sessions on call topics in the Horizon 2020 Societal Challenge 6: Europe in a changing world – Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies.
Presentations and videos of the speeches delivered in the conference are now available to download on the conference website.

 

 

 

 

 

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Cultural Heritage and European Identities

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The European Commission has officially launched the Horizon 2020 Reflexive Societies call for 2015.

The calls include projects that will look at Cultural Heritage and European Identities.

They are looking for projects that will show how digital cultural resources can promote creativity and generate innovation in research, lead to richer interpretations of the past, bring new perspectives to questions of identity and culture, and generate societal and economic benefits.

Projects should enable new models to be developed of Europe’s cultural and intellectual history and to bring cultural content to new audiences in novel ways.

The deadline is 21 April 2015.

Projects will need to work with a consortium of European Partners. Groups who are successful in this call will start developing their consortium now.

The commission is looking to award funds of €2-4 million for projects.

Further Information: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/h2020/topics/2104-reflective-6-2015.html

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