Parental leave award scheme
The Division of Medicine is proud to support its students and staff who are parents or about to become parents.
Athena SWAN promotes the advancement of women in science and supports the development of all staff more generally. The Division of Medicine has ring-fenced £9,000 worth of funding to help support personnel and projects during times of parental leave.
Who can apply?
This scheme applies to all staff in the Division taking any kind of parental leave, including current PhD students registered with the Division of Medicine, academic/research staff, professional/support/administrative staff, and technical staff. This reflects the expanded scope of the new Athena SWAN charter.
PhD Students, Research Assistants and Post-Docs should discuss applications with their supervisor.
What can you apply for?
Examples of the funding support that can be applied for include:
- Salary/consumables to allow a piece of research to be pursued/completed
- Funding for a training course to maintain skills
- Funding for costs to facilitate students/staff keeping in touch with work during their leave
- Funding of costs to aid staff presenting their work at scientific conferences after or during parental leave. In this case, details of the conference and abstract of the work to be presented should be provided as part of the application form attached.
Priority will be given where there are no alternative sources of funding to support the proposal and where it will help the member of staff to complete/sustain their work or contribute to their career development. We will also prioritise those who have not previously received one of these awards.
How to apply
Apply by sending a completed version of the application form below to m.plate@ucl.ac.uk. The application deadline is Friday, 25th July 2025.
Enquiries
Please direct any informal queries about the scheme to Manu (m.plate@ucl.ac.uk).
Important information
For applications requesting salaries, to expedite the review process, please consult with Rachel Pandian (r.pandian@ucl.ac.uk) so that you can provide the relevant salary, grade, and spine point.
How the award helps
My award was used for a salary to carry on work my project during my absence. This meant the project could move forward while I was on leave and allowed me not to fall behind. It also gave me opportunities to keep in touch with project meetings, lab visits, and a push to keep me up to date. The fact that I could keep engaging with science while on leave gave me the confidence to also travel abroad with my child to participate as a speaker in an international conference.
