Support for Fellows

Fellowship Fortnight (12th-23rd April 2021- Online)

Over the two weeks of 12th-23rd April 2021, the University will be holding its first 'Fellowship Fortnight' to celebrate the work enabled through our community of Fellows. Fellowship Fortnight will showcase the work of current Fellows, provide training for prospective Fellowship applicants and bring together academic staff to share ideas and practice to support Fellows.

For Prospective Fellows: Preparing for Fellowship Success

(15th, 20th and 21st April - Online)

Deadline for applications: noon Wednesday 17th March

The Preparing for Fellowship Success programme, now in its third year, provides the space, time and support for exceptional early career researchers to develop a Fellowship application. It is aimed at internal and external high calibre postdocs and early career researchers who intend to submit a Fellowship application within 9-12 months. Owing to the intensive nature of this programme, candidates should at least be at a stage where they: understand the key features of a fellowship (for example, how these differ from a standard research grant); have identified a suitable fellowship scheme that they are both eligible for and fit well to; and have an outline research project. All applicants must have the full support of the appropriate Chair of the Departmental Research Committee.

Each aspect of the Fellowship process will be covered and candidates will be fully supported by professional support staff, existing Fellowship holders, external speakers and Fellowship Mentors. The retreat is provided free of charge and is part of the University’s commitment to providing support for postdocs/research staff with the skills and capabilities to develop independent research and is aligned to the institutional commitment to the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers.

To maximise the chances of fellowship success all applicants are required to identify an individual (who may or may not be their PI) to become a *‘Fellowship Mentor’ and support their application.

*A mentor is an academic member of staff who can provide specialist insight into the proposal

Objectives

By the end of the retreat participants will have:

Confirmed their choice of Fellowship scheme
Received feedback on and refined their research vision and pitch
Produced an action plan and timescale for further work endorsed by their Fellowship Mentor

This year the PfFS training will be held online on 15th, 20th and 21st April. Participants will also need to build in time between 15th and 20th April to work with their mentor on their application and develop a pitch to be delivered on 21st April. The first step for prospective PfFS participants to identify a suitable mentor in the host department, who will be an academic member of staff who is willing and able to support them with the development of their fellowship application during this two week period and ongoing prior to submission.

Participants are expected to be:

- either internal or external to the University

- have a strong vision for their Fellowship

- preparing to submit an early career fellowship to an external funder within the coming 9-12 months

- have identified one specific fellowship scheme (or a small number) that are eligible for and fit well to (if you have a University of York email address/login, you can find a list of commons schemes here; if you are not currently a member of the University of York, you can find some common schemes here.)

- have the full support of the prospective host department in pursuing the fellowship application

- have a mentor within the prospective host department, who is able to work with them on developing their proposal (and ideally at times during the programme - 12th-23rd April 2021)

- available to participate in sessions and dedicate time to their fellowship application during 12th-23rd April 2021

We are committed to valuing and celebrating diversity, and to advancing equality and inclusive practice. We encourage interest from people with a variety of backgrounds and experience; for example, people from sections of the community that are currently underrepresented in the University, those with commitments that would benefit from flexible working, and people wishing to return to research after a career break.

Information for Applicants

If you’re interested in applying for the Preparing for Fellowship Success 2021 programme please first identify which Fellowship scheme you wish to apply for (listed on the University’s Fellowship page).
Please discuss your intention to attend the training and to submit a Fellowship application with your line manager, and identify a Fellowship Mentor (someone who will support you through the application stage)
Submit this application form by noon on Wednesday 17th March - Preparing for Fellowship Success 2021 - Application Form (MS Word , 22kb) by emailing it to fellowships@york.ac.uk
Block out in your diary the Preparing for Fellowship Success Programme delivery dates - 15th, 20th and 21st April and time between 15th and 20th April to revise their application with their mentor and prepare to pitch.
The University’s Fellowships Coordination Committee will ratify all applications and decisions communicated during the wk/c 29 March 2021.

More information about Fellowships at The University of York can be found here