SoNG Annual Early Career Researchers' Day 2010 Event

Chair: Professor Lindy Holden-Dye, Biological Sciences

Organisers: Hazel Blythe & Samantha Broyd, Psychology

9.30 am Registration and coffee
Room 3031, Psychology
Level 3, Shackleton Building (Building 44)
Highfield Campus

10.00 am Industry Presentation: Career opportunities in Neuroscience
Philip Szkeres In Vitro Pharmacology, Neurodegeneration Lilly

11.00 am Writing an impact statement

What is impact? How can you describe it? And how can you deliver it?
Telling funding bodies why your research is important and what the impact of a successful project will be in your field, and possibly beyond, is an all important part of the funding process these days. This workshop will provide a discussion forum for these points and guidance on how to communicate this in your grant proposals. The workshop will be interactive with participants writing impact statements for their own research.

12.30 Lunch

1.30 pm Grant writing workshop introduction

We all know that writing grants is not easy, and often the way that you say things can be just as important as what you say. While you are already an expert in your field, how good are you at selling your ideas to a non-expert decision-making committee? This workshop will give you the opportunity to learn from the experience of more senior members of staff, with plenty of real examples, and to get a sense of what the decision makers are looking for. By the end we hope that you will have gained useful experience in evaluating grant applications and, from that experience, will be able to make your own writing much stronger. This workshop is all about gaining practical skills to support your research career, and is based on some real examples of grant applications (both successful and unsuccessful) that have been donated by faculty for this workshop.

1.45 pm Form groups and disperse for discussion of grants.

3.00 pm Group discussion

Short, interactive presentation and discussion with each group on which grants they would award funding and why

4.15 pm Summary and discussion with Chair

The Chair, Professor Lindy Holden-Dye who has previously sat on BBSRC grant review committee, will reveal which grants were funded and lead a discussion on the factors that can influence funding decisions.

5.00 pm Closing, Cheese and Wine Reception