RIS Active-Research and Innovation Services News

Following a meeting in April, Research Services has been working with colleagues at the University of Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church University to put in place support for the further development of research on the Medway campus. This includes:

• Preparations for the Medway Research Festival, which will be taking place on 10 Sept from 1pm in the Pilkington Building.This will be an opportunity to hear about the research going on across the campus, to foster collaborations within and between the universities, and to further develop the research culture on the site. The Festival will be based around a series of short presentations, discussions and demonstrations,  followed by a reception at 5pm.
  Do add the date to your diary, and watch out for further details of the programme;
• Set up a Facebook page to share details of events, seminars and talks taking place on the Medway campus. ‘Like’ this to keep up to date with upcoming events as they are added. The page is here, with a chronological list of the events here. If you want to add any events, do let Phil Ward know the details and he’ll do so.

Saturday, 7th June 2014

Venue: The Open University in London, 1-11 Hawley Crescent, Camden Town, London, NW1 8NP
Venue directions and map

Time: 10.00am until 5.00pm.

Early Career Researchers in the Arts and Humanities are invited to a day-long event to discuss inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional collaboration, and hear about some successful examples of such projects. The event is free and open to all. However, places are limited hence the need to register in advance. To book a place, please email: marie-claire.leroux@open.ac.uk.

For any enquiries, please email Derek Matravers: derek.matravers@open.ac.uk

Confirmed Speakers:

David Sweeney, Director: Research, Innovation, and Skills (HEFCE)
‘Research Funding and Policy Issues in the Humanities’

Eylem Atakav (UEA)
‘The AHRC-funded project “Skills in Media Management”’

Kenneth Fincham (Kent)
‘The Clergy of the Church of England Database’

Grant Pooke (Kent)
‘The “Visions of Utopia” Exhibition’

Leon Wainwright (Open University)
‘The Open Arts Journal’

Alex Hulkes, the Senior Global Uncertainties Manager for ICT at the EPSRC, is visiting the University on the 2^nd July (venue tbc).

A brief agenda for the afternoon is shown below:

•  12.45 –  13.30      Lunch (by invitation)
• 13.30 –  14.30      Presentations and discussions from Kent
• 14.30 – 16.00      Presentation from Alex Hulkes and Q and A session
• 16.00 –  16.60      Coffee break
• 16.30 –   5.30      One to one surgery sessions (to be booked in advanced)

A more detailed agenda of the day will be circulated nearer the time. If you are planning to attend could you let me know by Monday the 23^rd June at the latest so can book refreshments. If you would like to book a one to one session with Alex, please let me know as soon as possible as only 6 time slots are available.

Whether you are thinking of applying for a First, a Fellowship or a Responsive mode grant, this is an excellent opportunity to hear from the EPSRC and ascertain their current thinking in the ICT area.

Get in touch with Helen Leech if you would like to attend.

Next month’s Grants Factory session will provide an insight into how the EPSRC assesses applications. This is third of the three ‘mock panels’ (there have already been ones focusing on AHRC and ESRC), and will consist of two parts:

• Firstly, two experienced panellists, Prof Sarah Spurgeon (EDA) and Prof Simon Thompson (Computing) will give an overview of the priorities and processes of the EPSRC, outlining how your proposal will be assessed;
• Secondly, Sarah and Simon will lead a ‘mock’ panel, at which you will assess, discuss and rank a number of real applications, and decide which should be funded. This is invaluable to help understand the issues and difficulties faced by the EPSRC panels, which will, in turn, help you to focus and draft your application more effectively.

Given the nature of the mock panel exercise, places are strictly limited, and allocated on a first come, first served basis, although priority will be given to those currently working on an application.

The session will take place in Grimond Seminar Room 3 from 12noon, and lunch, tea and coffee will be available. The event is free, but do let Phil Ward (p.ward@kent.ac.uk) know if you would like to take part.

Following the very successful event in 2013, the Science Faculty will hold its 2014 Research Festival on Tuesday, 13 May 2014 between 12.30 – 6.00 in Grimond Lecture Theatre 1.

The festival will feature lightning talks from researchers across the seven schools of the Faculty, an invited speaker Prof  Ofer Lahav, the Perren Chair of Astronomy at UCL, speakers from our Eastern ARC partners (Essex and UEA) and posters. It will be opened by the VC and closed by the new PVC for research, Prof. Philippe de Wilde. There will be a free buffet lunch beforehand and a drinks reception after, to provide plenty of opportunity for networking.

The aim of the Festival is to celebrate and raise awareness of the research across the schools in the Faculty, and to facilitate new interdisciplinary collaborations. Faculty members have long expressed an interest in knowing more about research in other schools/campuses.  With research councils increasingly emphasising interdisciplinary work, it is essential that we utilise expertise available across the University. The research day will also be an opportunity to interest undergraduates in pursuing a research degree, and to provide a showcase to the outside world, helping to demonstrate that the Faculty is the place for science in Kent.

Details of the Festival are available at http://www.kent.ac.uk/stms/researchfestival. To help us to estimate numbers for catering, please register by mailing deaneryassistant@kent.ac.uk, indicating any dietary requirements.

To mark Europe Day (9 May), Research Services is hosting a visit from our UKRO representative, Maribel Glogowski

The UK Research Office (UKRO) is the European office of the UK Research Councils and its mission is to promote effective UK engagement in EU research, innovation and higher education activities.

Details of the programme are below

Visit by UKRO Representative

9^th May 2014

Canterbury Campus

Grimond Lecture Theatre 2

Final programme

The latest tranche of internal research funding in the Faculty of Sciences is open for applications.

• amount available: £5,000 +
• Bids to be submitted to School DoRs by 5^th  May 2014 (deadline for School DoRs to submit to Faculty: 8th May).
• School DoR writes an accompanying statement of support.
• Results announced end of May 2014.

Criteria: Excellence. Make a case that this funding will develop your research over the next few years. For example, it may deliver/enable some combination of high quality research, grow your international reputation, prepare for a grant bid (including Horizon 2020 although the PVC (Research) also has a fund to support Large and Complex Grant applications), or help to host expert visitors. Funding applications are open to both lecturers, etc and post-docs. Applications from early career researchers are welcomed.

Format: Send 1 page of A4 maximum (font: Ariel 11pt, or Times New Roman 12pt minimum) case (PDF) to your School’s Director of Research by the deadline as above. Explain the criteria by which we will be able to assess your achievements afterwards. Include a timeline for the spend and activity.

Amount: This is up to you. £500, a few thousand…it is highly unlikely that a single bid will win it all (on that sort of scale you need School or external funding).

Results from Tranche 1 (from the end of 2013). Results from Trance 2 not yet available.

More information here: http://www.kent.ac.uk/stms/research/index.html

The Leverhulme Trust has launched a new bi-monthly email bulletin.  Would you like to join their mailing list?

Sign up for the Leverhulme Trust funding bulletin to receive…

• Details of scheme opening dates and upcoming deadlines
• Advance notice of changes to award criteria – including important changes to the 2014 Philip Leverhulme Prize scheme
• Listings of awards made, and stats on application and success rates
• Useful information on the Trust’s approach to grant-making.

You can join the mailing list online at: http://eepurl.com/DsxYz

The European Commission has produced an iCalendar providing up-to-date information on Horizon 2020 call deadlines in 2014 – 2015, which is compatible with most online calendars including Microsoft Outlook, Apple Calendar, and Google Calendar.

The call calendar can be accessed by clicking on the calendar icons located next to ‘Calls’ and ‘Call Updates’ on the left hand side of the Participant Portal’s ‘Funding Opportunities’ page here.