British Council and EURAXESSDr Claire McNulty

Director of Science, British Council

www.euraxess.org.uk 14th March 2013

British Council work

• We are the UK’s international cultural relations organisation, and have been working for more than 75 years to forge links between people in the UK and other countries

• Our main purpose is to build engagement and trust through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide

• We have 218 offices in 109 countries around the world

Main areas of work

Our three core areas of work are:• English• Arts• Education and Society

Science is closely linked with Education and Society, but can also provide themes for work in Arts and English

Science and Research approaches

• Education intelligence and research• Policy dialogues• Sustainable HE partnerships• Student and researcher mobility • Capacity building• Public engagement of science

The Shape of Things to Come

New Opportunities • Changing patterns of student mobility (new growth

markets - India, Nigeria, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey

• Growing importance of Trans National Education• Collaboration with rapidly growing emerging scientific

nations (China, India, Brazil, Malaysia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar)

But….• Increased competition for research excellence and

funding• Increased international competition for students• Visas issues

Global Policy Dialogues

• Going Global– International Education Conference– Dubai, March 4-6th – Includes aspects linked to research

• Bilateral or Regional policy Dialogues– E.g. South Asia Policy Dialogue series.

Including ‘Research and Relevance’ in Pakistan, 2014.

Example of research partnership initiative:

BIRAX Regenerative Medicine Initiative • Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange

Partnership • Five-year programme• Funding for teams in UK and Israel to carry out joint

research• Maximum funding £400,000 over 3 years• Associated fellowship scheme for early career

researchers to undertake research visits.• www.britishcouncil.org/israel-education-birax.htm

Supported by Pears Foundation, UJIA, BIS, FCO, Ministry of Science and Technology (Israel)

Other Research partnership projects• India (UKIERI2)• Turkey• Russia• Japan (Renkei)• Central South Asia (Inspire project)• China (Sino-UK Higher Education Research Partnership)

Under development:• UK-US-3rd Country

Normally working with other UK and national partners

EURAXESS

EURAXESS-UK - managed by the British Council and funded by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills

‘The EURAXESS-UK website will be promoted as the key information portal for researchers’

Jan 23rd 2012. Joint press release from RCUK, Higher Education Funding Councils, Learned Academies and Universities UK.

EURAXESS EURAXESS Jobs - Information on job opportunities, funding opportunities, grants, employment, etc.

EURAXESS Services - Practical assistance for researchers

EURAXESS Rights - Information on the European Researchers’ Charter and Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers

EURAXESS Links - a networking tool for researchers outside Europe. Operating in USA, China, Japan, India and Singapore

• Central jobs and funding portal for Europe• Free of charge • Can advertise jobs and search CV database (18,000

CVs)• As of March 2012, more than 7000 organisations from

across Europe are registered on EURAXESS Jobs • Around 35,000 unique visitors per month• 6,990 vacancies currently available, 631 from the UK • Nature Jobs postings imported to EURAXESS Jobs• All European research organisations are being

encouraged to use the EURAXESS Jobs portal to advertise their research positions

EURAXESS Jobs

• Practical assistance for researchers and their families before, during and after their move abroad

• Web portals– Each country runs their own national portal

• Helpdesks (phone or email)• Service Centres

– Walk-in centres providing personalised assistance to all researchers

• Local Contact Points• Offices within universities etc giving assistance to

incoming staff/students• Around 200 Service Centres or Local Contact Points in 40

countries

EURAXESS Services

• Information on living, working and research in the UK

• Jobs in the UK RSS feed• Downloadable guide for researchers• Leaving the UK• Searchable database of international funding

opportunities

• Information on living, working and research in the UK

• Jobs in the UK RSS feed• Downloadable guide for researchers• Leaving the UK• Searchable database of international funding

opportunities

EURAXESS-UK Searchable Funding database

200 funding schemes in database, from travel grants for conferences, to longer term partnership funding

How can you get involved?

2. Encourage use of EURAXESS-Jobs to advertise research positions

1. Make researchers more aware of the EURAXESS initiatives

3. Sign up as a EURAXESS Local Contact Point

Contact: jacqueline.mccarthy@britishcouncil.org

EURAXESS UK Local Contact Points• So far 15 UK Universities have signed up as local

contact points:

• These offer customized assistance to researchers coming to their own institution before, during and after their move

Aberystwyth UniversityBangor UniversityDurham UniversityUniversity of Dundee University of EdinburghUniversity of GlasgowUniversity of HuddersfieldUniversity of Leicester

University of LiverpoolNewcastle UniversityNorthumbria UniversityPlymouth UniversityQueen Margaret University EdinburghSwansea UniversityUniversity of West of Scotland

What should a EURAXESS-LCP do?• Act as first point of contact for international

researchers coming to your institution• Provide advice and assistance on matters

relating to mobility – often a matter of knowing who to refer questions to

• Set up dedicated email address (e.g. euraxess@dundee.ac.uk)

• Link to Euraxess-UK national portal

Contact: jacqueline.mccarthy@britishcouncil.org

Benefits of being a EURAXESS-LCP

• Demonstrates commitment to international researchers and to the European Research Area.

• Higher visibility across Europe and beyond• Closer linkage to counterparts throughout Europe• Access to training and networking events• Participation in EC funded projects – some calls

open only to Euraxess members• Simple to do; very little bureaucracy

Contact: jacqueline.mccarthy@britishcouncil.org

Future direction

• Further development of EURAXESS-UK website• Building up network of EURAXESS-UK LCPs• Support/training/networking for LCPs – e.g. on visas,

social security, attendance at conferences, Nature Jobs Fair etc

• Stronger focus on promotion outside Europe

Any Questions?

British Council Online Resources

EducationUK www.educationuk.org Guide to studying in the UK

EURAXESS-UK www.euraxess.org.uk Practical information for mobile researchers. Includes a searchable database of

international funding opportunities.

CUBED www.britishcouncil.org/science-cubed.htm Magazine highlighting UK breakthroughs in science and innovation Talking Science www.britishcouncil.org/talkingscience.htmScience communication website, with information about science festivals, science

in the media, and links to useful resources. European RTD Insight www.ukro.ac.uk/insight We sponsor this monthly online publication which provides the latest news on

European Union policy; research; education, training and culture; external collaboration; events and awards; new publications and online resources