You can find a brief synopsis of just some of the grants and fellowships accepted by RAL PPD below. Additional information on all fellowships supported by STFC is available here.
STFC GRANTS:
STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowships
These
fellowships aim to support future scientific leaders to establish a
strong, independent research programme. The fellowships cover salary
& travel costs for 5 years. Successful candidates also have the
opportunity to bid for additional Ernest Rutherford research funding of
~£50,000/year, which they can use to employ staff, buy equipment etc. Up to 12 awards are made each year.
Candidates
must have a PhD in experimental particle physics, must have started
their PhD course at least ~4 years prior to applying for the fellowship,
and must not yet have a permanent job. They should ideally have experience in both detector construction/operation and physics
analysis. And be enthusiastic about explaining particle physics to the
public. They must show leadership potential.
Applications must be made jointly by the candidate and PPD. There is a single round each year, typically in late September (though contact PPD at least one month before this).
For more details, see the ERF page.
STFC post-graduate studentships
Research studentships normally leading to the award of a PhD are for a minimum of three years and enable postgraduate students to undertake training in research, research techniques and employment-related skills. Studentships may be held on a full or part-time basis. Part-time should be a minimum of 50%. Details of the main studentships can be found here. Some studentships are joint with PPD - details may be found here.
STFC Industrial CASE studentship
CASE gives students experience outside a purely academic environment. CASE awards are for a minimum of three and a half years and provide for training of a research student on a project which involves the joint supervision of the student by a member of staff at an academic Research Organisation and an employee of a UK industrial firm or an organisation in the public service (the "co-operating"). Institutes and Units of Research Councils can act as the co-operating body, and UK subsidiaries of foreign firms may be eligible to participate. Cases of doubt should be referred to STFC.
During the period of the award, the student is required to spend a period on the premises of the co-operating body. For a three-year award, the minimum is three months per annum. Applications for a CASE or CASE-Plus studentship should be made using Je-S and submitted to STFC. In exceptional circumstances, and where the adequate justification for the timing has been made, applications may be considered at any time of the year under urgency procedure. Details can be found here.
STFC Industrial CASE-plus studentships
CASE-Plus extends the CASE scheme to help students become more effective in promoting technology transfer, should their chosen career path take them into either academic research or industry. For the first three and a half years of the award, CASE-Plus operates in the same way as the CASE scheme (see above). The main difference is that the student spends a further year working full-time on the premises of the co-operating body as an employee. This is seen as continued 'hands-on' technological training for the student.
During this additional year, the student is employed by the sponsor company, at a salary equivalent to that of a new STFC postdoctoral fellow. STFC will contribute 50% of the salary costs incurred by the co-operating body (up to a maximum STFC contribution of £14,250). Entry into the fourth year is dependent on the student demonstrating a level of achievement agreed upon in advance between the sponsor, the University and the student. STFC will not commence funding for the fourth year until the PhD thesis has been submitted. Details can be found here.
PPD Visiting Fellowships
PPD will provide support for visitors to the department and for PPD people to visit other institutes in order to:
- Strengthen relationships with other groups;
- Bring in additional expertise;
- Enable PPD to transfer skills to collaborators, especially early-stage researchers;
- Provide extra effort for well-defined jobs.
Awards can be made at any time. They are made for between 1-12 weeks and cover housing and travel costs and include a per-diem.
To apply, please discuss this with your contact in PPD. Together, you will need to prepare a short (half-page) proposal giving details, including how this visit will benefit PPD and the institute.
OTHER FELLOWSHIPS:
UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships
Details of the UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowships can be found on the UKRI website. This fellowship scheme supports early career
researchers and innovators with outstanding potential. The long-term support will enable each fellow to tackle ambitious and challenging research and innovation and develop their own career.
UKRI Stephen Hawking Fellowships
Details of the UK Research and Innovation Stephen Hawking Fellowships can be found on the UKRI website. The Stephen Hawking fellowships will support and develop the next
generation of visionary scientists in theoretical physics at the
beginning of their careers.
UKRI Turing Artificial Intelligence Fellowships
Details of the UK Research and Innovation Turing Artificial Intelligence Acceleration Fellowships and the Turing Artificial Intelligence World-Leading Research Fellowships can be found on the UKRI websites here and here, respectively. The long-term schemes are to support AI researchers in tackling the methodological and theoretical challenges in AI driven by real-world applications.
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Details of these EU initiatives can be found on the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions website (link opens in a new window). Applications for Research Training Networks (RTN), Early Stage Fellowships (ESF), Intra-European Fellowships (EIF), Incoming International Fellowships (IIF), European and International Reintegration Grants (ERG/IRG) and Excellence Grants (EXT) are just some of the schemes we can be partners with.
Royal Society University Research Fellowship
Details of the Royal Society University Research Fellowship can be found on the Royal Society website. This fellowship scheme is for outstanding scientists who are in the early stages of
their research careers and have the potential to become leaders in their
field. These long-term fellowships provide the opportunity and freedom
to build an independent research career.
Royal Society Newton Fellowships
Details on the Royal Society Newton International Fellowships and the Royal Society Newton Advanced Fellowships can be found on the Royal Society websites here and here, respectively. The former fellowships are for non-UK scientists who are at an early stage of their research career and wish to conduct research in the UK. The later fellowships are for established international researchers to provide them with an opportunity to develop the
research strengths and capabilities of their research group with a partner in the UK.
Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships
Details of the Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships can be found on the Royal Society website (link opens in a new window). The Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship scheme supports excellent scientists and engineers at an early stage of their careers and is designed to help them to progress to a permanent position. It is aimed specifically at researchers who require a flexible working pattern due to personal circumstances including parental/caring responsibilities and health issues. Female candidates are particularly invited to apply.
Daphne Jackson Research Fellowships
Details of the Daphne Jackson Research Fellowships can be found here. The trust offers fellowships as a means of enabling a return to the workplace. The Daphne Jackson Trust helps talented women scientists, engineers and technology specialists to return to work after a career break by offering sponsored fellowships.
