The DiMeN Management Board are very pleased to announce that our Doctoral Training Partnership as received a two year extension in MRC scholarship funding for Oct 2019 and 2020 cohort intakes.
The project call for studentships starting in October 2019 is now open, please read the information below and follow the link provided to submit your project for consideration.
If you have any queries please contact the DiMeN DTP Manager, Dr Emily Goodall: dimen.dtp@sheffield.ac.uk
Project requirements and supervisor eligibility criteria
- Only submit one project as the primary supervisor
- The primary supervisor must be located within a partner institution (University of Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle or Liverpool) and not have received a DiMeN student within the 2018 cohort
- Projects must have two supervisors with complementary expertise, one is expected to have a current MRC Research/ Programme Grant or equivalent funding from a recognised agency funding medical research (e.g. Wellcome Trust, BHF).
- Projects must address MRC Strategic Research Priorities and fit within DiMeN research areas
- Projects must be designed to provide training in MRC strategic skill priority areas and suitable for submission within 3.5 years
For the 2019 round of studentships we would like to emphasise the importance of non-academic partners and collaborative projects with industry as a strategic priority for the DTP. The management board strongly encourage iCASE project applications and projects with the potential to iCASE convert, these will be favoured in the selection process. Interdisciplinary research and cross-institutional partnerships are also welcomed but not essential. We have a number of associate partner organisations who can offer a range of expertise and the potential for collaborative research endeavors.
Academic supervisors will be expected to engage with the work of the DTP and to contribute to the training of DTP cohort students through participation in workshops, sharing of expertise, seminars and online sessions.
How to apply
Project proposers should fill in a project expression of interest form, presented in a way that is understandable to a non-specialist, via the following link: https://goo.gl/bRf6Ln.
Deadline to apply is 8th October 2018.
Project selection process
Proposals will be evaluated and scored by a cross-institutional panel against the following equally weighted criteria.
1. Excellence and novelty of the research project
2. How the MRC DTP student would add value to current research
3. How the project will address MRC strategic skills priorities (https://www.mrc.ac.uk/documents/pdf/mrc-strategic-skill-priorities/)
4. How the project will address MRC and Government Industry strategy (http://www.mrc.ac.uk/publications/browse/strategic-plan-2014-19/)
5. Quality and engagement of the supervisory team, including strength of publications in the relevant field and training offer
6. Quality and strength of non-academic partnerships will be considered where appropriate
Following a local, light touch review to ensure projects fit MRC DiMeN remit and supervisory teams are suitable, the centralised academic panel will be blinded to supervisor names and host institution. This is to eliminate bias and ensure the best projects are selected for advertisement to students. The DiMeN DTP does not allocate a set number of projects per institution and projects are scored on merit according to the above criteria. We advertise more project opportunities than we can support within the funding envelope and this is a competitive process. As an example, in the 2018 project call we received 136 project applications, 67 were selected for advertisement to students and 30 funded.
Student selection process
Students choose up to three DiMeN projects upon application to the DiMeN DTP in order of preference. Our academic panel blindly score and shortlist student applicants, the top 50 will be interviewed by the DiMeN Management Board. Supervisors are provided with full application details of each shortlisted candidate who selects their project and asked to provide the interview panel with detailed feedback regarding student suitability to your project. In our experience, engaging with potential students at this stage is very important and increases the chances of gaining a DTP student.
The final selection of supported project/student combinations will be made on the basis of student quality by the DiMeN Management Board.
Benefits of DiMeN DTP studentships
Financial support: Full home/EU fees and stipend (UKRI standard rate) for 3.5 years, £4125 per year Research Training and Support Grant (RTSG) and £300 per year travel/conference allowance
Students can access flexible supplement funds for high quality external training, lab or industry research placements, internships or transition to first post-doc position (https://mrc.ukri.org/skills-careers/studentships/studentship-guidance/additional-support/)
Additional funding is available for visits and placements across our partners institutions to encourage collaboration and sharing of expertise within the DiMeN community
Students access tailored, cohort training events including “Meet the Editors”, “Media and Impact” and “Bench to Bedside”. See this link for more details: http://www.dimen.org.uk/overview/programme-details
Students and supervisors are part of a vibrant community of researchers across our partner institutions