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Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships Dr Robert Heinemann

Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships Dr Robert Heinemann School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering Manufacturing Research Group. A bit about myself. 1999 / 2001 Dipl.- Ing . / MSc in Mechanical Engineering, University of Paderborn, Germany

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Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships Dr Robert Heinemann

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  1. Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships Dr Robert Heinemann School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering Manufacturing Research Group

  2. A bit about myself • 1999 / 2001 Dipl.-Ing. / MSc in Mechanical Engineering, University of Paderborn, Germany • 2004 PhD in Manufacturing Engineering, UMIST • 2005 – 2010 RA, University of Manchester • 2007/08 Applied for Research Fellowships • RAEng/EPSRC – shortlisted & interviewed, but then not successful. • Leverhulme ECF – not successful. • 2008/09 Applied for Research Fellowships again, with a different idea • RAEng/EPSRC – not successful. • Leverhulme ECF – successful (finally → be persistent!). • Since 2013 Lecturer

  3. Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships • Ca. 80 Fellowshipsto be awarded in 2014 in all subject areas. • Highly competitive despite of large number of awards. • Not focussed on engineering/technical sciences • Trust seems to favour topics outside of what other bodies fund. • Interdisciplinary research (e.g., engineering + “something else”) could be more successful than purely engineering research. • Fellowship duration: 3 years. • Quite short, but still needs to be ambitious and adventurous. • Applicants … • … must not have held a full-time established academic post in the UK. • … who had their doctoral viva not more than five years from the closing date. • … must either hold a degree from a UK HE institution at the time of taking up the Fellowship or at the time of application hold an academic position in the UK (e.g. fixed-term lectureship).

  4. A few details about Early Career Fellowships • Usually start at beginning of the academic year. • No Full Economic Costing. • Trust pays only 50% of the Fellow’s salary (max. £23k p.a.) and expects the School to cover the remainder. • What can you offer in return? • Trust allows up to 3 hours per teaching week in term time  Great opportunity to experience what life is like as an academic. • Trust pays up to £6k p.a. for research expenses. • Small amount restricts experimental research  no equipment budget. • Does not cover additional personnel costs, e.g. technician, PhD student. • High flexibility in terms of how to spend it. • New for last year:“Applications that will result in the applicant moving institution are favoured.”

  5. Application procedure • One round per year; deadline usually mid of March; start date between 1st May and 30th April the following year. • Straightforward application process (single-stage, no interview, two references required) • Application documents • Research proposal (max. two pages, “layman” style) • Short proposal makes it quite tricky to convey everything you want to say  Especially when you have to use layman terms. • Concentrate on the research methodology ( Do you know what you want to achieve?) and benefits ( What’s the social/economic impact?) • List of publications • Budget • Online form (statement of HoS, justification of resources) • Extremely helpful Leverhulme Trust staff; high degree of flexibility in terms of starting time, budget, ...

  6. Check list • Have you got a good idea? • Turn it round in your head → Are there (obvious) flaws? • Do some research → Has it already been done? • Talk to the Head of School at an early stage • School has to agree to fund 50%. • “Negotiate” what you can do in return, but be firm → Easier said than done. • Keep the support manager/team in the loop • They can start drafting out an initial budget at their leisure. • Find outside support – collaborators – beneficiaries • To emphasise the novelty/importance/benefit of your research. • To offer (in-kind) support. • Have your application checked • Experts, who understand and can judge on the technical merit. • Non-expert “guinea pigs” to test whether it can be understood.

  7. The outline of myproposal • Aim (4 lines) • Proof of principle (i.e. prototype) of new keyhole surgery technique. • Research Methodology (¾ of a page) • Motivation: What are shortcomings of today’s technology and how can my idea overcome these? • (Vague) breakdown of objectives that will be addressed. • Emphasise interdisciplinary nature of research. • Benefits and Beneficiaries (¾ of a page) • Impact on society: More precise and efficient operations → patient’s benefit. • Impact on UK plc: Increased efficiency of surgical procedures. • Highlight project partners (surgeons, companies, …). • Highlight intention to patent. • Dissemination (a few lines) • ... through journal and conference papers; talks; seminars. • ... through the project partners.

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