RCUK Academic Fellowships

"What is an Academic Fellow?"

The aim of an Academic Fellowship is to provide a contract researcher with a more attractive and stable path into academia. The scheme is open to researchers in all subject areas covered by the Research Councils.

The Organisation will guarantee the Fellow a permanent academic position following the end of the award, subject to the successful completion of a probationary period.

An Academic Fellowship provides funds of £25,000 per annum for five years. This is not intended to cover the full cost of the Fellows salary but to be a contribution to the overall costs.

An example of how the award may be used is described here. Although this is likely to be a common model, it should not be seen as the only means of using the funds, which will be dependent on each individual case. In the first two years of an Academic Fellowship award, the Fellow may be principally funded by another source of research funds - such as a research grant, a fellowship or by the HEI itself. The "top-up" funds provided through the Academic Fellowship during the first two years could support the personal development of the researcher through, for example, training, a top-up on salary, or travel and subsistence to relevant conferences and symposia.

During year three, the Academic Fellowship could provide the majority of the funding for salary, and some associated direct research costs as appropriate, with the HEI providing a small contribution. The contribution from the HEI might increase in years four and five, whilst Fellowship funding might decrease. A diagram of the suggested funding profile example is provided at figure 1.

The scheme will be open to:

• Researchers supported on any type of grant funding;
• Holders of current fellowship awards; and
• Returners or other researchers without current research support.

The funding of £125,000 is not intended to cover the full cost of the fellowship over the period of the award. The funds may be used in a flexible way across the award to best support the individual fellow. The prospective Fellow should have a guarantee of research funding from another source other than the Academic Fellowship. For example, the researcher may be initially employed on a Research Council grant or through a fellowship awarded by another sponsor. Another example would be an individual who is supported on a research project funded by the university department or an industrial sponsor. The Fellow may be funded through more than one source, as long as the sources of funding cover the full number of hours that the researcher is contracted to work.

An Academic Fellow will be expected to carry out a significant body of research and to show considerable potential in this area. While the research programme to be carried out in the first two years of the award may be dictated by the nature of the funding provided by another sponsoring body, a broad outline of research should be planned for the following three years.

If an individual is supported almost fully by another source of funds at the start of the award, the Fellowship must not be to the detriment of the work associated with that funding. Similarly effort and time spent on research grant work must not compromise the Academic Fellowship work.

During the course of the award, the responsibilities of the Fellow are expected to develop. In the first year the Fellow will be expected to concentrate on undertaking research, although a small amount of teaching may be included. As the scheme progresses, there will be an increasing amount of teaching, project management and outreach to schools - where Fellows will go out to try and enthuse young people, for example within the Science and Engineering Ambassadors programme (operated by SETNET for those with skills in SET and Maths). Ambassadors are individuals working with schools on a voluntary basis, to inspire young people, support out-of-school activities, offer mentoring and career guidance and act as role models. Other activities involving engagement with the wider public are encouraged.

The table below provides general guidance on the inclusion of these components.

Table 1: Table giving general guidance on the development of duties during the course of the award. Based on one full-time equivalent (FTE) Fellowship.

The Fellow will be expected to develop skills appropriate to an academic position. The organisation will be required to provide training and development in these areas, and in particular in teaching, project management, and people management (including the supervision of research students). Personal development training in other skills, both specific to the research areas and in transferable skills should also be provided.

At the end of the 5 year Fellowship and on satisfactory completion of a probationary period, the Fellow will be a permanent member of academic staff at the organisation.