National Science and Engineering week takes place this year from 15 – 24 March and provides an opportunity to engage the public with Imperial research. Staff who are participating in events to promote their research during that week – whether talking to a school or running a science show – are encouraged to contact Katie Weeks (x46129) in the Communications and Development Division who will be publishing a full programme for the College.
The Management Board reviewed the high level plan for delivering the College’s submission to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise.
Work to collect, collate, verify and optimise the information required for submission to REF will involve all levels of the College (academics, Departments and Divisions, Faculties and central functions). Overall responsibility for the REF2014 submission rests with the College REF Steering Committee and day to day direction and management of the necessary activities is undertaken by the Strategic Planning Division.
The REF census date for staff is 31 October 2013, which means that academic staff must be in post, with a contract of at least 0.2 FTE, and be on College payroll by this date to be eligible for possible inclusion in the College’s REF submission. The deadline for publication of research outputs for inclusion in the REF submission is 31 December 2013.
Further details are available on the College’s REF Website: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/ref
The College thanks academic staff who have already participated in the 2011-12 TOAST (Academic Staff Time) survey. Those who have not done so are strongly encouraged to participate. The current response rate is higher than the last survey, at 75.9%, but this is below the target of 80%.
The survey is anonymous. The information is used only at an aggregate level to determine the College’s costs of research, teaching and other activities. The results will be used to calculate the rates for research grants and contracts applications, supporting the College’s cost recovery.
Since the survey began in October 2011 seven of the 12 survey weeks have elapsed. All 1,200 staff who are required to be surveyed have been contacted to complete at least one of their three survey weeks.
All academic staff are asked to complete all of their remaining survey weeks. For more information, please visit www.imperial.ac.uk/planning/toast or contact TOAST@imperial.ac.uk.
The Research Office has launched a new email bulletin which is aimed at staff supporting research activities at Imperial. It will highlight changes to research funding policy, announce internal funding opportunities and offer relevant guidance.
To sign up to the bulletin please email Linda Watson.
Research supervisors keen to develop collaborations in Asia are invited to encourage and support applications from prospective students for the joint PhD schemes that the College runs in conjunction with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Hong Kong University (HKU). The joint PhD’s enable students to carry out research at both the College and at the partner university, and offer opportunities to academic staff to establish links. Prospective students in conjunction with their supervisor can apply for one of five scholarships, each worth £20,000 per year for the duration of the programme, covering tuition fees (home/EU fees only) as well providing a fixed stipend.
Proposals must be submitted to the International Office (internationalphds@imperial.ac.uk) by Thursday 29 March.
For more information about the joint PhD’s and associated funding, visit: http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/international/prospective/phds
The College Research Office works closely with Imperial Innovations Ltd to facilitate the commercialisation of intellectual property generated by staff and students.
Staff are invited to assist the Research Office with an evaluation of the service Imperial Innovations provides to the College community by completing a short survey.
The College may share headline results of the survey with Imperial Innovations. All results will be presented on an anonymous basis, and used solely for the purpose of evaluating staff and students’ satisfaction of Imperial Innovations’ services. It is optional for respondents to provide contact details.
To complete the survey, visit: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/imperialinnovations
Any queries should be directed to Emma Toumi (e.toumi@imperial.ac.uk).
Staff are invited to a presentation by the Director of The Leverhulme Trust, Gordon Marshall, to hear about funding available for research projects, fellowships, studentships, bursaries and prizes. The Leverhulme Trust offers support across all academic disciplines. The presentation will take place on Tuesday 31 January at 15.00 in Lecture Theatre 3, Blackett Laboratory (Level 1) and is open to all staff.
For further details on The Leverhulme Trust, visit their website
The Royal Society invites nominations for 2012 medals, awards and prize lectureships. The awards recognise excellence in science and technology, with categories including:
Anyone is able to nominate a candidate for a Royal Society medal, award or prize lectureship. Completed nomination forms must be returned by 6 February 2012.
For full details, visit: http://royalsociety.org/awards/nominations/
OPAL (Open Air Laboratories), a nationwide project led by Imperial, is through to the final of The National Lottery Awards 2011. The initiative encourages people from all backgrounds to get out and about to enjoy nature and generate valuable scientific data concerning the state of the environment. Since 2007 the project has received over £13 million of funding from the Big Lottery Fund; the National Lottery Awards are an annual search for the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded project.
Details of OPAL are available here
To cast your vote visit the National Lottery Awards voting site (no registration required) or call 0844 836 9694 before 26 September.
Research supervisors keen to develop collaborations in Asia are invited to encourage and support applications from prospective students for the joint PhD schemes that the College runs in conjunction with the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Hong Kong University (HKU). The Joint PhDs enable students to carry out research at both the College and at the partner university, and offer opportunities to academic staff to establish links. Prospective students with their supervisor can apply for one of five scholarships, each worth £20,000 per year for the duration of the programme, covering tuition fees (home/EU fees only) as well providing a fixed stipend.
Proposals must be submitted to the International Office by email, by Friday 14 October.
More information about the Joint PhDs and associated funding can be found here