Fellowships for Researchers Day:The Research Environment at Imperial19th June 2009

Professor Sir Peter Knight

Senior Principal

Imperial at a glance

The University’s objectives:• world class scholarship, education

and research in science, technology and medicine

• interdisciplinary collaborations• communicate and share knowledge

Established in 1907

Academic faculties: • Engineering• Natural Sciences• Medicine • Business School

Our standing

Times Higher Education Supplement World University Rankings:

• 3rd in Europe 6th in World overall• 2nd in Europe 7th in World for engineering /

information technology• 3rd in Europe 11th in World for life sciences/biomedicine• 3rd in Europe 14th in World for natural sciences

Times Good University Guide 2008• 3rd in UK

Recent achievements: Engineering

• Engineering RAE outcome world-class

• New Rio Tinto Centre for Advanced Mineral Recovery aims to create the mine of the future

• 74 Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering

• Royal Academy’s MacRobert Award for software engineering spin-out company

• Racing Green fuel cell cart wins third place in 2008 Formula Zero Championship

Recent achievements: Medicine

• 72 Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences

• Lord Darzi named Parliamentary Under Secretary in the Department of Health

• Schistosomiasis Control Initiative wins Queen’s Anniversary Prize

• Janssen Award presented to anti-TNF developers Ravinder Maini and Marc Feldmann

• State-of-the-art simulated operating suite opens to train medical staff to use latest technologies

• New Graduate Entry Medicine course started in October 2008

Recent achievements: Natural Sciences

• Imperial becomes first university to open laboratory at the Diamond Light Source national synchrotron facility

• Leading photovoltaic research

• Paper written by Professor Tom Kibble in 1964 on how particles can acquire mass named by Physical Review Letters as one of the most important publications of the last 50 years

• New £2.7m plant sciences labs are opened for research into crop yield and how plants will respond to climate change

• Imperial scientists lead two out of the four Large Hadron Collider experiments at CERN

Our approach to research

+ Mechanical engineering + Computing + Medicine

= Constrained robotic surgery

+ Polymer chemistry + Microelectronics + Biochemistry

= Lab-on-a-chip diagnostics

+ Engineering

+ Computing

+ Medicine

= Advanced imaging techniques

Combining our disciplines leads to new capabilities

Interdisciplinary workings

Bringing together expertise from across Imperial to tackle some of world’s greatest problems

Institute for Security Science and Technology • Applying interdisciplinary science to tackle

current and future threats to safety and security

Grantham Institute for Climate Change• £12 million donation by Granthams – largest

private funding given to climate change in UK• Research to develop mitigation techniques• Influence international policy

Institute for Global Health• Research to tackle health problems, particularly

in the world’s poorest countries• Working with development and health agencies

and foundations • Analysing and influencing international policy

Government priorities

Research Councils UK have set their Global Challenges:• Energy• Living with Environmental Change• Global Uncertainties: Security for all in a Changing World• Ageing: Lifelong Health and Wellbeing• Digital Economy• Nano-Science through Engineering to Application

Fellowship scheme priorities often reflect these

Imperial College Faculties and Departments

• Fellows usually belong to departments reflecting their core disciplines, perhaps also with membership of an interdisciplinary Institute reflecting cross-cutting themes.

• You need to get the support of your department and faculty at the start of your planning.

• Fellows are much more independent than postdocs and your application needs to reflect this.

• You need to have a clear vision of how you want your career to develop, and the application must reflect this

Fellowships are not postdoc positions

The fellowship ladder • Early career fellowships usually for 2-3 years soon after

PhDs

• Imperial College JRFs, started in 2009 to develop early researcher careers

• Advanced Fellowships, offered by most RC to build an independent career, hold grants and co-supervise PhD students

• Royal Society URFs- highly prestigious and can run for up to 8 years. 33 offered this year out of 630 applications

• EURYI and ERC: long odds but gold-plated

increase your chances of success?

• What’s the optimal strategy to be successful?• Judge your vision and achievements against the criteria

for each scheme: and make sure you concentrate on» Clear statement of track record» Demonstrate your own independence» Explain your vision for the future» Give clear project objectives and timelines» Give clear financial planning for resources needed» State key Performance Indicators established to measure

success, including: Demonstrated intellectual impact; Evidence of institutional support to realise the project Long term career plans

Final thoughts

• Start planning project early• Put yourself in the place of a panel member: does the

application reflect you and your vision well and gives a sense of buzz to your work

• Talk with someone who has made a successful fellowship application in your field and pick their brains!

• Get support from your head of group• Make sure the Research Office and your Faculty Research

Managers are aware early• Get the costings done early so they can be scrutinized • Get a mentor and or friend to read through drafts early• Don’t leave the submission to the last minute• If the fellowship involves an interview, plan well ahead,

and rehearse what you want to get over to the panel• Good luck!