bbsrc fellowships 22 july 2008 dr ian lyne head of postgraduate training and research career...

BBSRC FellowshipsBBSRC Fellowships

22 July 200822 July 2008

Dr Ian LyneHead of Postgraduate Training and Research

Career Development BBSRC

Imperial CollegeImperial CollegeFellowships for Researchers DayFellowships for Researchers Day

* David Phillips Fellowship* David Phillips Fellowship

* Institute Career Path Fellowship* Institute Career Path Fellowship

BBSRC David Phillips FellowshipBBSRC David Phillips Fellowship

BBSRC Delivery PlanBBSRC Delivery Plan

• BBSRC Delivery Plan 2008-11: “Delivering Excellence with Impact”– ‘Skills and Training’ positioned under Economic Impact

Previous (07-08) 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Studentships £42.0M £43.7M £47.0M £51.1M

Fellowships £5.3M £6.7M £8.9M £10.5M

• Important to thinking about the flow of skilled people into bioscience research “cradle to grave”

• Flow of people into academia and out into other sectors – thinking about the broad economic and social impact of trained people


• Purpose:– To support outstanding bioscientists in the early

stage of their research careers who wish to establish themselves as independent researchers

• Institute Career Path Fellowship– Same duration, terms and conditions, etc, but

held at BBSRC sponsored institute in areas of strategic importance for institute skills base

– Institute guarantees permanent position subject to satisfactory progress


• Number and Duration

– 8-10 David Phillips Fellowships awarded each year

– 2 Institute Career Path Fellowships– 5 Year duration, with 2 year further

extension for exceptional fellows


• Eligibility

– Up to 6 years of active postdoctoral experience (but 2 year minimum too)

– “Active” means that periods of maternity/paternity leave, or career breaks don’t count

– No restrictions on nationality


• Salary

– No fixed maximum starting salary; it is determined in agreement with Research Organisation’s salary scales


• Research Support Grant

– No maximum limit, but typically will be around £600k - £1m over five years

– Will cover staff post– Awarded under “full economic cost”

principles– Family friendly


• 2007/08 Fellowships Competition

– David Phillips scheme: 96 Applications (58 male; 38 female); 10 DP fellowships awarded (8 male; 2 female)

– ICPF: 7 applications (5 male; 2 female); 2 fellowships awarded (2 female)


• Competition Process

– Applications considered by BBSRC’s Studentships and Fellowships Panel (SFP)

– Call for applications in September; November deadline– Initial sift in December– References sought up on those that make it through

the sift– Shortlisting in March– Interviews in April– Award taken up anytime before following January


• Assessment Criteria

1) Candidate:– Research achievements to date;– Number and quality of publications;– Personal achievements eg. prizes, awards,

honours, presentations, student supervision, collaborations etc.


• Assessment Criteria

2) Proposed research programme– Relevance to BBSRC’s mission; – Scientific quality of the proposed research; – Choice of host institution; – Scientific independence.


• Post-Award Support and Monitoring

– BBSRC Induction Seminar– Further Fellows’ workshops planned– Mentor assigned from SFP– Mentor visits the fellow at their workplace within the

first two years– Annual Reports discussed at SFP, with feedback

given to fellow– Mid-term presentation given to SFP– Biennial BBSRC Fellows Conference


• Comments from a recent Fellow:

“I am very grateful for this opportunity; it has now put me in an almost unique position for interdisciplinary research …

The personal contacts provided by the fellowship conferences and the good work of [the BBSRC fellowships team] always gave me confidence that BBSRC was supporting me and would help if unexpected problems had arisen.”

Challenges and Advantages of Challenges and Advantages of the Fellowship Routethe Fellowship Route

– It’s your research, you’re the boss– You need to recruit and manage the staff– Can be difficult to establish your

independence alongside colleagues you have worked as a postdoc

– From an employment perspective, you will normally be on a fixed-term contract

Other Fellowships BBSRC contributes toOther Fellowships BBSRC contributes to

• BBSRC/RSE Enterprise Fellowships– www.bbsrc.ac.uk/business/Welcome.html

• Royal Society / BBSRC Industry Fellowships– www.royalsoc.ac.uk (or the above BBSRC page)

• Human Frontier Science Programme– www.hfsp.org

• Daphne Jackson Fellowships– Research Council funded fellowships for returners:

www.daphnejackson.org

Good luck in your future Good luck in your future careers!careers!

Imperial Fellowships DayImperial Fellowships Day

bbsrc fellowships 22 july 2008 dr ian lyne head of postgraduate training and research career...

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