Applying for fellowships A very individual, biased and personal viewpoint

1. Applying for fellowshipsA very individual, biased and personal viewpoint Matthew Kenzie UCL ‘Applying for fellowships’ event 2nd May 2019

2. Disclaimer • I can only speak about my own personal experience • Much of what I say may not be applicable to you • I have been incredibly fortunate and elements of luck are required • I am an experimental particle physicist so some advice is very specific to my field • The following slides are just my opinion

3. What have I been up to? Every individual academic career is unique Try and sell anything different and unusual as a positive • Undergraduate (2006 – 2009) • BSc Physics – Durham University – 1st Class • Masters (2009 – 2010) • MSc Theoretical Physics* (QFFF) – Imperial College London – Grundy Scholarship* – Distinction • PhD (2010 – 2014) • High Energy Physics – Imperial College London – STFC Funding – Higgs Boson discovery* on CMS – Thesis Prize* • 1st Postdoc (2014 – 2016) • CERN Research Fellow – Moved to LHCb experiment* – CP-violation in B decays • 2nd Postdoc (2016 – 2019) • Junior Research Fellow - Clare College, University of Cambridge – LHCb B2OC WG convenor* • 3rd Postdoc (2019 – 2024) • STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellow – University of Cambridge – LHCb CPV • Permanent (2019 – ?) • Senior Research Fellow  Lecturer – University of Warwick * Things which potentially stand out on an application

4. How to win the lottery? • Can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket • Increase your chances by buying lots of tickets • Apply early (well before end of current contract – I did this every time) • Apply often* (in most cases there is no harm done by applying again + eligibility is finite) • Apply to many options* (there is a very little overhead in duplicating applications) *wouldn’t recommend submitting the same application for the same position in different rounds • For my (un)successful fellowship applications • CERN fellowship • 1/1 application (but there are caveats) • Cambridge JRF • 2 applications at Oxford, 4 applications at Cambridge • Made 2 short lists, Had 1 success • Also applied for 2 other post-docs as backup (Imperial and Manchester also offer similar schemes now) • ERF • Also applied to URF (with almost same application) • This was canned in the very first round (i.e. before even the long list) – SO THERE IS A STOCHASTIC ELEMENT!! I WAS INSANELY LUCKY TO GET SOMETHING EVERY YEAR I APPLIED (this is not that common and is mostly chance)

5. What can you apply for? Fellowships are great because they allow you to plot your own path and develop your own research ideas!!! • They are very competitive (e.g. typical JRF has ~1/2 places and ~250 applicants) • They are very prestigious (fellowships breed fellowships) • They are very attractive to Departments (because you are free!) • Early Career - usually 2-3 years in duration • Lab specific fellowships (CERN / DESY / Fermilabetc). • UKRI Stephen Hawking fellowship • Junior Research Fellowships (Oxbridge and a few others) • Marie-Curie Fellowship (we hope / pray we still have access) • Leverhulme trust • Herchel Smith fund • Royal Commission 1851 • Probably countless others I don’t know about • Advanced Level (still earlyish career) – usually 5+ years in duration • STFC ERF / EPSRC equivalent • Royal Society URF • UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship • ERC Starter Grant (we hope / pray will still have access)

6. Planning an application I have broken this down into 6 points • only one is about actually writing the research proposal • Give yourself plenty of time • Think + Discuss + Idea • Get mentoring + advice + approach host institute and referees • Read guidelines + get inspiration + write proposal • Write the rest of the application • Review, hone and perfect it

7. 1. Give yourself plenty of time • Applications are typically over the summer • you want as much feedback as possible before submitting it • Senior academics will be away in the summer • It will take you ages to get feedback • Most institutes have internal deadlines and internal competition • You do not want to waste weeks planning an application which you are prevented from even submitting to the funding body • I spent a good solid month (at least) writing the ERF/URF application • I have heard advice which totally contradicts this (i.e. don’t waste too much time on applications) but would be reticent to follow it • Get an idea of the required timeline and plan accordingly

8. 2. Think + Discuss + Have an idea • You should always be thinking of research ideas • Discuss with colleagues (at coffee time, at workshops at conferences) • Read papers • Come up with an idea or set of ideas • Think how best to sell those ideas to a funding body • Make sure you’re familiar with the application guidelines • You don’t always need a brilliant idea if you can sell it well • My own application had a mixture of “safe” but not exciting aspects and “risky” but novel aspects • You can have a brilliant idea and not be able to sell it • You have to understand what the funding body want • convince them the idea is good • convince them that you are the person who can deliver it

9. 3. Approach host institute + referees • Find a mentor or someone to help guide you • Preferably someone who knows you and knows your research profile • Find a host institute • Should be suitably matched with your research idea • Get feedback on your ideas and your application • Send it to as many people as you can for advice • Independent reviewers and panel members are typically people in permanent posts who have held similar positions in the past • These are the people you need to convince

10. 4. Write proposal • Read the guidelines! • Get an idea of what the funding body wants. • In terms of the research idea • Also in terms of the kind of individual they are looking for • What rules and regulations they have • Eligibility / location / age • Font size, page limits! • Try and find friends / colleagues who have written successful or unsuccessful applications in the past • Read their applications • Ask for any tips • Think about whether you are suitable and how your profile fits with the funding body’s desires • In most cases the funding is for you as an individual as much as it is for the research (I certainly got this impression with the ERF). • Do you tick the right “leadership” boxes. • Have you demonstrated you can lead and deliver?

11. 5. Write the rest of the application • This can take a long time • Do not repeat what you’ve already said in the research proposal • Use it as an opportunity to demonstrate your diversity / variety / other strings to your bow • This requires a lot more effort and time than you think (and I’m not sure how seriously it should be taken – but I took it fairly seriously) • CV • Publication List • Pathways to Impact • Data Management Plan • Public Engagement Statement • If you plan your application early enough and write a decent draft of the proposal to circulate to academics then you can work on these other elements in the meantime • Put yourself in the mindset of a reviewer in a different field and explain yourself • I have >800 publications ?!?! • I have convened the LHCb B2OC working group ?!?

12. Responding to reviewers • Read the guidelines again • And read the guidelines for reviewers • You can establish where exactly you stand • My responses all looked “good” but one was not actually • Stand up for yourself but do not argue • Be polite • Be concise

13. Preparing for interview • At this point the panel will likely consider the proposal good enough to be funded • Make some killer slides! • You have about 10 minutes to give a presentation • Sell your project and sell yourself • Most people on the panel will not be intimately familiar with your area of research • Be enthusiastic, be engaging • Most questions are about you as an individual • Most questions are very typical interview questions • I got the impression that you couldn’t win the grant with any single aspect (proposal, interview, reviews, CV) but you could lose it

14. Summary • Work on your overall research profile as an individual • Keep thinking of good ideas • Keep thinking of good ways to sell these to funding agencies • Leave plenty of time and write a good proposal • Get lots of feedback from colleagues GOOD LUCK!