Funding opportunity

Funding opportunity: UK-Canada Globalink doctoral exchange scheme

Apply for funding to undertake a 12-week research placement in Canada.

You must be a doctoral student funded by a UKRI research council and working in any field.

You will be required to carry out a 12-week research project that you develop with your host supervisor in Canada.

Funding can be used for:

  • fees and stipends
  • research costs
  • travel and subsistence costs.

You may request up to £15,000 for each placement. Awards will be made at 100% of direct costs. No indirect costs will be paid.

Placements must take place between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023.

Who can apply

This is a new and exciting opportunity for UKRI and Canadian doctoral students to participate in a research exchange scheme between the UK and Canada.

UKRI has partnered with Mitacs to deliver the £2.5 million programme. Mitacs is a national, not-for-profit organisation that has designed and delivered research and training programmes in Canada for 20 years.

UKRI and Mitacs will support up to 200 UK doctoral candidates to carry out 12-week research placements in Canadian universities. Students will have the opportunity to develop into global citizens, with international competencies.

As this is a collaborative scheme between the UK and Canada, an equal number of Canadian doctoral students will have the opportunity to undertake research placements at UK universities.

This scheme is open to doctoral students working in all areas of UKRI’s research remit who are funded by one of UKRI’s research councils:

  • AHRC
  • BBSRC
  • ESRC
  • EPSRC
  • MRC
  • NERC
  • STFC.

It also includes the UKRI Artificial Intelligence Centres for Doctoral Training.

Placements will take place between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023. Students must be able to start their placement before the end of their funded period of study.

The application process for Canadian students applying to undertake placements in the UK is coordinated by Mitacs. Please see the Mitacs website for further information.

Students can see a list of Canadian professors who have registered an interest in hearing from UKRI students. This page will be updated with new details as they are received. Students are also encouraged to make contact with other Canadian professors who they are interested in working with.

Canadian professors who want to register their interest in working with UKRI students can enter their details on the UKRI-Mitacs Globalink host professor expression of interest form. Please note that all details entered on this form will be made publicly available.

Full eligibility criteria are outlined in the Globalink doctoral exchange scheme application guidance (PDF, 194KB). Please refer to this before applying.

What we're looking for

This scheme will support UKRI-funded doctoral students in all areas of the UKRI research remit. Successful applicants will carry out a 12-week research project that they develop with their host supervisor (or supervisors) in Canada.

Placement projects can be on a topic unrelated to your studies, helping to create multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary researchers. Placement projects should not include activities that are part of your planned PhD.

Successful applicants will be required to deliver a programme of collaborative research that will further their studies and enhance their research career prospects.

In addition, successful applicants will be expected to undertake network-building activities to establish and enhance collaboration and links between their UK research community and their Canadian counterparts.

These activities may be restricted to your area of expertise or can be broad in nature, helping to create multidisciplinary connections. Networking could include, but is not limited to, formal activities (for example, attending conferences) or informal activities (for example, involvement in department events). Virtual and hybrid networking events are also welcome.

Funding

Funding can be used to reimburse applicable fees and stipends, research costs, and travel and subsistence costs. You may request up to £15,000 for each placement. This includes $3,000 Canadian dollars (CAD) (approximately £1,780) from Mitacs.

Research costs are limited to a maximum of $1,500 CAD (approximately £890) and must be sourced from the Mitacs funding. No additional research costs can be requested from UKRI funds, including costs for fieldwork and consumables.

Awards will be made at 100% of direct costs. No other indirect costs will be paid.

How to apply

Before applying, you should read the Globalink doctoral exchange scheme application guidance (PDF, 194KB).

You must complete your application using the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system.

When applying, select:

  • council: NERC
  • document type: standard proposal
  • scheme: NC&C
  • call/type/mode: Globalink Research Placement Apr 2022.

You must also upload the following documents as part of your application:

  • application and permissions form
  • placement proposal
  • home supervisor letter of support
  • host supervisor letter of support
  • justification of resources.

This funding opportunity will close on Je-S at 16:00 UK time on 26 April 2022. You will not be able to apply after this time. Please leave enough time for your proposal to pass through your organisation’s Je-S submission route before this date.

How we will assess your application

Applications will be reviewed, and final funding recommendations made, by a panel consisting of staff from UKRI and Mitacs. This will be led by a chair external to UKRI.

Please note that applications will not be reviewed by academic experts in your field of study.

Applications will be assessed against the following:

  • quality of placement proposal (33%)
  • student support and development (33%)
  • benefit to the UK and Canada (33%).

Please see the Globalink doctoral exchange scheme application guidance (PDF, 194KB) for further details.

Contact details

Ask about this funding opportunity

UKRI Globalink team

Email: ukriglobalink@ukri.org

We aim to respond within 10 working days.

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