Final Report Summary - RSE IRAS (Royal Society of Edinburgh International Research Awards Scheme)
Between 2009 and 2013, the RSE was able to enhance its existing RSE/Scottish Government Personal Research Fellowship scheme and give Fellows the opportunity to apply for significant additional funding for international travel and personal development activities thanks to a successful application for EU co-funding within the framework of the Marie Curie Actions.
Four calls (in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013) for applications for these Fellowships were made. The RSE had originally intended to make a call for applications each year and appoint six Research Fellows at each call. However, in 2011 no call could be made due to budget cuts to the Scottish Government Personal Research Fellowships and no Fellowships were offered. An extension to this project was requested and approved to allow the COFUND money to be used by Research Fellows appointed in 2012 and 2013. Again due to budget restrictions, three rather than six Fellows were appointed in 2012. For a detailed breakdown of the number of applications received and appointments made, please refer to the attached document - "Summary of Applications and Appointments."
The COFUND acceptance rate was 70%.Of the 20 Fellows who were appointed and had access to the COFUND, six did not make use of it for the reasons stated below:
- A 2009 Research Fellow could not take up the opportunity as she had a PhD student to supervise and she felt that she could not spend time away from her host institution. The RSE did encourage her to take up COFUND and it was agreed with the European Commission that the Research Fellow could make several journeys to maintain her supervision of the PhD students whilst overseas. Unfortunately, the Research Fellow decided this was not an option for her and declined the COFUND opportunity;
- A 2012 Fellow had to withdraw from the Fellowship as he was offered a position in England;
- A 2012 Fellow was not able to use the COFUND as she went on maternity leave in November 2014 and had not finalised travel plans before this;
- Two 2010 Fellows were unable to travel or attend any training before the grant expiry date (29 March 2015);
- A 2013 Fellow was unable to travel or attend any training before the grant expiry date (29 March 2015).
The 14 Fellows were based at the following institutions in Scotland: University of Edinburgh (x 5 Fellows), University of Glasgow (x 2 Fellows), University of Dundee (x 4 Fellows), University of Strathclyde (x 1 Fellow), the James Hutton Institute Dundee (x 1 Fellow) and the University of St Andrews (x 1 Fellow).
The Fellows made use of the Marie Curie COFUND to travel abroad for one or more short or long visits to establish and/or consolidate collaborations. The overall objectives of the RSE/COFUND project, listed below, were therefore met.
1) to encourage international collaborations and networks to be developed by RSE Scottish
Government Personal Research Fellows through trans-national mobility
2) to support Research Fellows' complementary skills training through the additional funding
specifically for training and career development
3) to enable the Research Fellows to make outgoing short visits, to help them plan their long visits to ensure the destination was right for them and their work.
Fellows travelled to the following organisations:
- Harvard University, USA
- Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, USA
- University College Dublin, Ireland
- University of Tennessee, USA
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Maryland, USA
- Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Grenoble, France
- University of Calgary, Canada
- University of Iceland
- Leiden University Medical Centre, the Netherlands
- Crucell (Biotechnology Company), the Netherlands
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France
- University of Winnipeg, Canada
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
- University of Rhode Island, USA
The Fellows used the training funds available for the following courses: first-aid for fieldwork, off-road driving lessons, language courses, laboratory management for independent group leaders, communication skills for researchers, Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament familiarisation programmes and teaching qualifications. Full details of each Fellow’s travel and training activities funded by the COFUND can be found on the RSE website: http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/1175_MarieCurieCOFUND.html(si apre in una nuova finestra)
Overall, the COFUND has had a positive impact on the individual researchers and the involved research institutions in Scotland. Of the first group of Fellows to have completed their Fellowships in September 2014, four out of five obtained permanent lectureship positions in their institution, and the international links developed and training completed thanks to the COFUND may have helped them to secure these positions. In many cases, the Fellows made use of the funds to interact with their fellow scientists abroad, and to gain knowledge and expertise. Therefore the project has also had a positive impact on the transfer of knowledge, skills and techniques to Scottish Universities.
One of the unexpected outcomes of the funding was the under spend in the grant. Some Fellows could not travel as much as anticipated (or not at all in the case of some Fellows) due to family and research commitments in Scotland. This is something that only became fully apparent as the Fellows settled into their Fellowships. The fact that the RSE appointed fewer Fellows than expected in years 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 (due to the previously mentioned budget cuts and some Fellows declining the opportunity) was another reason why the full financial resources available from COFUND were not fully utilised.
Four calls (in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013) for applications for these Fellowships were made. The RSE had originally intended to make a call for applications each year and appoint six Research Fellows at each call. However, in 2011 no call could be made due to budget cuts to the Scottish Government Personal Research Fellowships and no Fellowships were offered. An extension to this project was requested and approved to allow the COFUND money to be used by Research Fellows appointed in 2012 and 2013. Again due to budget restrictions, three rather than six Fellows were appointed in 2012. For a detailed breakdown of the number of applications received and appointments made, please refer to the attached document - "Summary of Applications and Appointments."
The COFUND acceptance rate was 70%.Of the 20 Fellows who were appointed and had access to the COFUND, six did not make use of it for the reasons stated below:
- A 2009 Research Fellow could not take up the opportunity as she had a PhD student to supervise and she felt that she could not spend time away from her host institution. The RSE did encourage her to take up COFUND and it was agreed with the European Commission that the Research Fellow could make several journeys to maintain her supervision of the PhD students whilst overseas. Unfortunately, the Research Fellow decided this was not an option for her and declined the COFUND opportunity;
- A 2012 Fellow had to withdraw from the Fellowship as he was offered a position in England;
- A 2012 Fellow was not able to use the COFUND as she went on maternity leave in November 2014 and had not finalised travel plans before this;
- Two 2010 Fellows were unable to travel or attend any training before the grant expiry date (29 March 2015);
- A 2013 Fellow was unable to travel or attend any training before the grant expiry date (29 March 2015).
The 14 Fellows were based at the following institutions in Scotland: University of Edinburgh (x 5 Fellows), University of Glasgow (x 2 Fellows), University of Dundee (x 4 Fellows), University of Strathclyde (x 1 Fellow), the James Hutton Institute Dundee (x 1 Fellow) and the University of St Andrews (x 1 Fellow).
The Fellows made use of the Marie Curie COFUND to travel abroad for one or more short or long visits to establish and/or consolidate collaborations. The overall objectives of the RSE/COFUND project, listed below, were therefore met.
1) to encourage international collaborations and networks to be developed by RSE Scottish
Government Personal Research Fellows through trans-national mobility
2) to support Research Fellows' complementary skills training through the additional funding
specifically for training and career development
3) to enable the Research Fellows to make outgoing short visits, to help them plan their long visits to ensure the destination was right for them and their work.
Fellows travelled to the following organisations:
- Harvard University, USA
- Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, USA
- University College Dublin, Ireland
- University of Tennessee, USA
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Maryland, USA
- Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Grenoble, France
- University of Calgary, Canada
- University of Iceland
- Leiden University Medical Centre, the Netherlands
- Crucell (Biotechnology Company), the Netherlands
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France
- University of Winnipeg, Canada
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
- University of Rhode Island, USA
The Fellows used the training funds available for the following courses: first-aid for fieldwork, off-road driving lessons, language courses, laboratory management for independent group leaders, communication skills for researchers, Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament familiarisation programmes and teaching qualifications. Full details of each Fellow’s travel and training activities funded by the COFUND can be found on the RSE website: http://www.royalsoced.org.uk/1175_MarieCurieCOFUND.html(si apre in una nuova finestra)
Overall, the COFUND has had a positive impact on the individual researchers and the involved research institutions in Scotland. Of the first group of Fellows to have completed their Fellowships in September 2014, four out of five obtained permanent lectureship positions in their institution, and the international links developed and training completed thanks to the COFUND may have helped them to secure these positions. In many cases, the Fellows made use of the funds to interact with their fellow scientists abroad, and to gain knowledge and expertise. Therefore the project has also had a positive impact on the transfer of knowledge, skills and techniques to Scottish Universities.
One of the unexpected outcomes of the funding was the under spend in the grant. Some Fellows could not travel as much as anticipated (or not at all in the case of some Fellows) due to family and research commitments in Scotland. This is something that only became fully apparent as the Fellows settled into their Fellowships. The fact that the RSE appointed fewer Fellows than expected in years 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 (due to the previously mentioned budget cuts and some Fellows declining the opportunity) was another reason why the full financial resources available from COFUND were not fully utilised.
