Recruitment Process and Support for Research Fellows School of Pharmacy, UCL
Information for Prospective Candidates
Thank you for your interest in applying for a senior research fellowship in the School of Pharmacy at UCL. In SoP, our aim is to provide support so that fellows can establish their own research group, have opportunities to gain teaching skills and play a full role in the running of the department. Our commitment starts with academic and administrative support at the application stage and continues throughout the tenure of the fellowship, with regular appraisal and career mentoring. Fellows should develop to be strong candidates for PI positions in the department or elsewhere. In line with this ethos, a large proportion of our staff progressed from fellowships to become PIs in SoP. As senior fellowships are the first step towards becoming a PI, and due to high interest in joining SoP via this route, we run a rigorous assessment process to screen applicants down to the most suitable candidates for both the fellowship schemes and for the department.
The recruitment process outlined here is designed to offer a fair and transparent approach to selecting the fellowship applicants we support. It covers several stages, from initial contact and a departmental visit to a final decision and subsequent application support.
Pre-assessment: The first stage is a pre-assessment of your suitability. We ask you to send us a CV, a brief document outlining your research proposal, a list of fellowship schemes you are planning to apply for (the main ones are listed on our website) and how you see yourself and your research fitting into the department. This information will be assessed by several members of staff. It will also help us identify the researcher in SoP closest to your field, who will act as your sponsor and guide you through the selection process.
Visiting us: If selected as a suitable candidate following pre-assessment, you will be invited to deliver a research talk to present your recent work and fellowship plans. You will get the chance to meet our staff and students and view our facilities. In addition, you will get the opportunity to meet current SoP fellows, including those who have progressed to permanent positions within the department, and learn about the supportive and stimulating environment we offer. Where a visit is not possible, discussion will be conducted over Teams/Zoom.
Application Support: Following a positive outcome of the visit, we will identify a sponsor(s) to support your fellowship application. They will help you in preparing you application, including feedback on draft proposals. They will direct you towards the necessary administrative contacts (e.g., finance office) and put you in contact with specialist facilities at UCL (e.g. microscopy, genomics). If invited to fellowship interview by the funding body, we will offer a mock interview practice in SoP with a panel of 3-4 SoP PIs and fellows to maximise your chances of success. If you have any questions about the process at any point, please feel free to contact the SoP Fellowship Advisors: James Phillips and Steve Bunting.