Apply for the next IHE Impact Fellowship

Do you want to…  

• Build your skills in policy, communications, public or patient engagement?  
• Meet other like-minded researchers from across UCL? 
• Receive personalised training and paired mentorship? 
• Enhance your CV with a year-long Fellowship position? 
• Increase your confidence and personal network? 

The UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering's year-long Impact Fellowship scheme will be welcoming its next cohort in October 2022. The scheme will train and guide its impact cohort to build their engagement skills and grow their network beyond university walls, building up a real-life, impact-driven, engagement activity at the end of the year.  

Deadline to apply: 1 October 2022 

What you’ll receive: 

You’ll receive personalised training and skills-building in a range of engagement and impact topics.  

You’ll learn: 

• How to engage with policymakers 
• How to explain your research in simple terms so everyone can understand what you do 
• How to work with audiences from widely diverse backgrounds 
• How to work with community groups and patients 
• How to measure your impact
•  How to co-produce research with community members 
• And much more! 

You’ll also receive plenty of additional advice and guidance, including mentorship from experts, peer-to-peer learning activities and opportunities for external network-building and exchanges. 

Crucially, all Fellows will be supported to take part in at least one structured activity each term which will allow you to practice the skills you’ve just learned. Last year’s Fellows volunteered at a museum exhibition and took part in a singing workshop.  

As the scheme comes to a close, you’ll also have access to a small funding pot to plan and lead your own engagement activities.  

What we ask from you: 

So that you get the most from the scheme and so we can plan most effectively, we expect you to: 

• Commit to attending each monthly session.
• If you need to miss a session you can watch recordings, but we expect you to attend at least 70% of the sessions as they happen. 
• Attend the in-person sessions – these are an important part of the learning and networking process! 
• Take part in the introductory and end-of-year celebration sessions. 
• Take part in the Science Showcase. 
• Commit to writing an impact and learning report. 
• Commit to a measured impact activity, with a clear plan and desired outcomes. 
• Act as an impact ambassador within your own research groups and communities and contribute to a wider objective of culture change in research
• Participate in one of the IHE's delivery groups

Who is eligible?

All UCL researchers whose work is related to digital and medical technologies can apply for the scheme.

What's the time commitment?

• Time-commitments can be flexible around the Fellows' exisiting research, teaching and other commitments throughout the year, but Fellows can expect to commit an average of 1-2 hours per week during term.  
• The monthly sessions will usually be between 60-90-minutes.  
• Training will be a mix of in-person and virtual training; you must be able to physically attend the in-person sessions in London.  

There will be opportunities to take on additional opportunities beyond the core training for those interested. As always - the more you put into this scheme, the more you will get out! 

How to apply: 

To apply, please email Alice Hardy (a.hardy@ucl.ac.uk) with the subject heading ‘IHE Impact Fellowship Scheme’ and answer the following questions: 

• Name 

• UCL affiliation/department

• Two-sentence description of your area of research and its relation to healthcare engineering 

• 150-250 words on each question: 

  • Why are you interested in the Fellowship Scheme? 

  • What previous experience have you had in impact and engagement activities (doesn’t need to be extensive)?  

  • What skills would you like to build most? 

To discuss any questions about the scheme or if you are an external organisation that would like to get involved, please email Alice Hardy (a.hardy@ucl.ac.uk). 

Deadline: 1 October 2022