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UCL-Indian Institute of Science Strategic Partner Funds

UCL and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is pleased to launch their second joint call for collaborative activities

This funding call opens on Monday 22 August 2022

With the objective of enhancing interdisciplinary and collaborative research interest between UCL and IISc, a joint research seed has been established to invite joint project proposals from faculty members from both institutions.

This scheme essentially provides seed funds for research projects to galvanise research groups from both sides to work on proof-of-concept ideas, generate data and apply for larger grants to international funding agencies. It is expected that these interdisciplinary research groups will:

  1. Grow in size or merge with other allied research groups and in the process enhance the level of expertise and scope of research in a specific interdisciplinary theme.
  2. Catalyse synergistic cross-research activity between the two institutes, leading eventually to joint research publications and patents.
  3. Attract support from external funding agencies.

The joint research seed fund is a one-off grant, and the success of these project will be determined by a number of parameters, including (i) how the project has contributed to joint research activity between the two institutions and (ii) what external grants the team is able to jointly bid for on completion of the project.

Projects

  1. This call invites research proposals in areas of mutual and complementary interest that will strengthen the partnership between UCL and IISc.
  2. Proposals in all fields and thematic areas are welcome. They must include participants from both institutions, be interdisciplinary in nature, demonstrate a pathway to impact and focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
  3. Up to four joint projects will be selected for funding.
  4. Proposals will be assessed by a committee composed of members from both institutions.

Eligibility for participants

i) Applications are open to UCL staff members with the following roles:

  • Professor/Professorial Research Fellow/Professor (Teaching) or equivalent
  • Associate Professor/Principal Research Fellow/Associate Professor (Teaching) or equivalent
  • Lecturer/Senior Research Fellow / Lecturer (Teaching) or equivalent
  • Research Fellow/Associate Lecturer (Teaching) or equivalent
  • Research Assistant or equivalent are eligible to apply provided their contract covers the spend and activity period
  • PhD students are not eligible to apply, but PIs are encouraged to include PhD students in their project

ii) For IISc the call is open to all the faculty members.

Collaborative activities

Collaborative activities may be based on joint projects set up by faculty/staff members of both institutions, including:

  • Joint research projects.
  • Doctoral student mobility.
  • Any other form of partnership, to be promoted and implemented jointly when both UCL and IISc find it mutually beneficial.

Value

Up to five successful proposals will receive up to £8,000, i.e. each successful proposal will receive up to £4,000 per year for UCL faculty and up to Rs. 4 lakh per year for IISc faculty, for one year.

Funding will be jointly provided by UCL and IISc, with 50% going to the academic at each respective institution.

The IISc Principal Investigator (PI) should submit only one joint proposal, as submission will be via their online portal. The UCL PI will need to sign the joint application, or the IISc PI will need to confirm that their UCL counterpart has agreed to the joint submission of the application.

The budget provided by IISc and UCL may be spent as per norms and regulations followed in each institute.

Duration

A maximum of 12 months.

For UCL funds allocated must be consumed before 31st July 2023.

Timeline

Call for proposals

Monday 22nd August 2022

Deadline for submission of proposal

Monday 17th October 2022 by 9:00pm UK time, 1.30pm Indian Standard Time  

Communication of Results to applicants

By end of the week commencing Monday 14th November 2022

Start date of Awards

Monday 21st November 2022 onwards or immediately thereafter

Identifying academics at IISc and UCL

  1. In order to identify the academics at either institution, please refer to the institutional websites in the first instance: www.ucl.ac.uk and https://iisc.ac.in/.
  2. If further help is required, then UCL applicants should contact Dr Amita Sneh (iro.admin@iisc.ac.in) whilst IISc applicants should contact Dr Amit Khandelwal (amit.khandelwal@ucl.ac.uk).

How to apply

  1. Proposals are to be prepared and submitted jointly, ensuring that all project costs are provided for the panel’s consideration.
  2. Compilation of the proposal will be handled by IISc. It is therefore crucial that UCL academics, in particular the Principal Investigator, liaise closely with their IISc counterpart who will be responsible for filling in this form.
  3. The IISc counterpart will be responsible for submitting the final proposal on the IISc online portal by Monday 17th October 2022 by 9.00 am UK time, 1.30pm Indian Standard time
  4. IISc International Relations Office will forward all the proposals received before the deadline to the UCL Global Engagement team for adjudication.

Adjudication

  1. Proposals received by IISc and UCL Global Engagement will be evaluated by a separate review at each institution.
  2. Both internal review committees will assess each proposal according to the following criteria:
  • Project design and rationale (how clearly presented and justified is the design and basis for the collaboration)
  • Pathway for project impact (how clearly linked are the outcomes to the planned activities and performance indicators, such as joint papers, external funding applications, joint research with industry and policy recommendations)
  • Interdisciplinary nature of the project (the aim of the funding is to encourage academics to collaborate in a project that will require a range of disciplines for successful delivery of the project)
  • Impact of collaboration (is there a distinct advantage provided by this collaboration that is not possible by the two institutions working individually?)
  • Capacity for future collaboration (what is the extent to which future collaborations are possible as a result of the proposed activities?)
  1. Please state which of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals your project will fall under. The information sought here is for mapping purposes. It is not part of the selection criteria.
  2. A joint committee will convene to select up to five final proposals.

Communication of results

Final results will be announced by communication to the successful faculty members or PIs by each institution, during week commencing Monday 14th November 2022 or immediately thereafter.

Reporting after project completion

All awardees must, as a condition of receiving an award under this call, complete a narrative report of achievements (of between 1 and 2 pages), including how they intend to take the research forward beyond the funding period. This should be completed within three months of completion of the project. A review meeting will also be held where PIs from UCL and IISc, including their students, will be invited to present on their joint project.

Contacts

For any clarification points or questions on the joint call, please do not hesitate colleagues listed below:

UCL

IISc

Professor Monica Lakhanpaul

Pro-Vice-Provost (South Asia)

Email: m.lakhanpaul@ucl.ac.uk

Professor Abhishek K. Singh

Chair, Office of International Relations

Email: abhishek@iisc.ac.in and chair.oir@iisc.ac.in

Dr Amit Khandelwal

Senior Partnership Manager (South Asia)

Email: amit.khandelwal@ucl.ac.uk

Dr Amita Sneh

International Relations Officer

Email: iro.admin@iisc.ac.in