L'Oreal Fellowships for Women in Science

L’Oréal UK and Ireland, the UK National Commission for UNESCO, the Royal Institution of Great Britain, the Irish National Commission for UNESCO, and the UK Resource Centre for Women in SET have partnered together to provide a dedicated UK and Ireland For Women In Science Fellowship Programme for women scientists at postdoctoral level to enable and/or facilitate promising scientific research in the life or physical sciences.

Four Fellowships will be awarded in 2009 to outstanding female postdoctoral scientists to assist them with their research. The Fellowships, each worth £15,000 (equivalent € for candidates in Ireland), are tenable at any UK or Irish university or research institute to support a 12-month period of research.

The fellowship money can be spent in any number of innovative ways to enable women scientists to further their careers and facilitate world class research - such as buying equipment, paying for childcare or funding travel costs to an overseas conference.

The deadline for applications is 8 April 2009.

Visit the Women in Science website to find out more and apply.

British Science Association Media Fellowships

Applications are now being accepted for the 2009 British Science Association Media Fellowships.

The Fellowships provide placements working with a national press, broadcast or internet journalist. During the placements of between 3 and 8 weeks Fellows learn to work within the conditions and constraints of the media to produce accurate and well informed pieces about developments in science.

Last year scientists were placed in a wide range of media environments including Radio 4, The Guardian, Nature and The Financial Times.

The application deadline is 10 March 2009.

Read reports from the 2008 Media Fellows.

Visit the British Science Association website to find out more and apply.

Biochemical evolution and the Biochemical Society

In an article in the current issue of the Biochemist, Dr Chris Kirk (the Chief Executive of the Biochemical Society) speculates on the future organisation of UK learned societies in the biosciences sector. He suggests that the advances of the past 50 years have blurred the traditional boundaries between disciplines that were first defined at the beginning of the last century - societies like the Biochemical Society will need to work increasingly together to promote our academic interests. The imminent merger of the Biosciences Federation and the Institute of Biology will create a single body seeking to represent the interests of the entire UK bioscience community to Government, the funding agencies, Europe and beyond. Chris argues that the Biochemical Society should play a major role in the formation of this organisation and in shaping the future of the learned society sector in the 21st century. By doing this, we can build an organisation that will promote and defend the Biosciences just as the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Institute of Physics seek to support their respective disciplines.

What do you think? Use the comments section to tell us your views.

Read the Biochemist article in full.

Lessons from the past

In the past decade, the government has repeatedly emphasised the importance of taking an "evidence-based" approach to policy-making. In 2006, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee welcomed the government's progress in integrating scientific evidence into decision making. However, despite increasing use of evidence from the natural and social sciences, evidence from humanities disciplines such as history is not widely used. This POSTnote (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology) considers how history could help to inform decisions on key scientific and technological policy issues. An increased use of learned societies and academies to help bridge the gap between historical research and policy is highlighted.

Read the POSTnote in full.

Research supports informal science activities

SciDev reports that researchers say they have now demonstrated that scientific understanding can be boosted through approaches such as museums, hobbies and events. It is also thought that they can also sustain a long-term interest in the subject. 'The Committee on Science Learning in Informal Environments found "abundant evidence" that individuals of all ages learn science across a variety of venues including programmes, designed settings and everyday experiences' through a synthesis of hundreds of pre-existing studies. Although the study was carried out in the United States it is though that the findings could be applied universally.

Read the SciDev article in full.

Read the 'Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits' report online.

Standing up for science

Voice of Young Science (a Sense about Science initiative) have launched their latest publication, "Standing up for Science 2-the nuts and bolts" to help other early career scientists, engineers, medics and others who want to promote good science and fight misinformation. It contains examples of different ways of standing up for science in public - from hunting down the evidence behind product claims to correcting misinformation in all kinds of media - along with practical tips on how to do it.

Read "Standing up for Science 2 - the nuts and bolts" online.

Visit the Sense about Science website.

HEFCE: Here to help

THES reports on a £50 million emergency fund launched by HEFCE to help fight the economic downturn. The fund is designed to create new opportunities for academics who are keen to work with local businesses to to help them survive the credit crunch through practical projects.

Hugh Tollyfield, HEFCE's special advisor on employer engagement, cited the example of 'how institutions situated near the factories of steel manufacturer Corus, which recently announced massive job cutes because of the slump, might attract ECIF cash. "They might offer short courses to people who have been made redundant so they have better prospects in the job market, or they might look at opportunities for improving processes (such as steel production)"'.

Read the THES article in full.
Visit the HEFCE website to find out more.

Will QR reinforce hierachies?

An article in the THES addresses the potential effects of the QR formula. The RAE findings showed that research excellence was widely spread across the sector, leading to speculation that large research-intensive universities was lose funding due an allocation formula which promises that research in the top three of four categories (4*, 3* and 2*) would be funded wherever it was found.

However, a decision was announced by HEFCE to ring-fence funding for science subjects (normally strongest in traditional universities) at the expense of other disciplines. This decision is expected to divert about £50 million away from arts-based subjects, where the research excellence of the post-1992 institutions is concentrated.

Professor Les Ebdon, chair of Million+ think-tank and vice-chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire is quoted as saying that, 'while his part of the sector was "very pleased" that HEFCE had agreed to fund excellence where it was found and he was expecting "significantly more" funding flow to Million+ universities than previously, he was disappointed that research of "national significance" (1*) will not receive any funding, given its importance to "UK PLC"'.

Read the THES article in full.

Voice of the Future 2009

On Tuesday 10 March, organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), the Voice of the Future 2009 event takes place at Portcullis House, Westminster. This free event, which aims to to strengthen links between the scientific community, Parliament and Government, is open to anyone with an interest in science under the age of 37. Registration for this event is compulsory and the limited places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. An application form is available to download from the RSC website.

Provisional programme:
12:00 - 12.30 Registration
12:30 - 13.15 Lunch
13.15 - 13.30 Welcome
13.30 - 13.35 Introduction (Phil Willis MP)
13:35 - 15:30 Science Question Time
Questions to Panel of Parliamentarians
Commons Select Committee on Innovation, Universities and Skills

Visit the RSC website for more information and an application form.

NC3Rs releases annual report

The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) has released its 2008 annual report. This report is the mechanism by which the organisation reports to the Science Minister and stakeholders. The report outlines the achievements of the organisation in its fourth year, these include:

• Increased funding for 3Rs research, with £2.6m invested in ten grants and a total of £8m invested to date;


• Working with the major bioscience funders to launch guidance on the use of animals and the 3Rs for researchers.
  

Read the NC3Rs Annual Report online.

Visit the NC3Rs website.

STEM Programme opened up to consultation

After being chosen by HEFCE to host the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme, a consultation process has begun which will allow you to have your say in how England paves the way for the future of STEM centred Higher Education.

Key issues are:

• Structuring the National Programme effectively so that it may deliver on a national scale


• The benefits the National Programme could offer to you and your organisation and how it may best achieve these


• Effective practices upon which it may build

Consultation will take place online in addition to regional consultations. These regional consultations will take place on:

9th February - Botanical Gardens, Birmingham
12th February - Hallam Conference Centre, London

17th February - Hewlett-Packard Labs, Bristol
19th February - University of Bradford

Visit the STEM Programme website for more information.

Science Minister calls for focus

THES reports that Science Minister, Lord Drayson, has said that ‘the UK should narrow its research effort to key areas that boost the economy and deliver economic benefits’ identifying life sciences and earth sciences as examples of two such areas.

Lord Drayson acknowledges that this may call unrest as a concentration of efforts in one area will come at the expense of others. Before the House of Commons Innovation, Universities, Skills and Science Select Committee this week, Lord Drayson said “I truly believe that we could be the world’s best at life sciences if we put our minds to it.”

Read the THES article in full.

Science: So what? So Everything

A new Government campaign has been launched to highlight the vital role science plays in the wellbeing and prosperity of Britain. "In the UK, we don’t value science as much as we should. It lives beneath the surface of everything we touch and taste. It is the key to our prosperity, one of the driving forces of our economy, and it creates thousands of jobs that keep Britain at the leading edge." The website contains engaging examples of how science affects our day to day lives, through news stories, twitter and short videos.

Visit the 'Science: So What?' website.

The future of higher education

DIUS is currently developing a framework policy for Higher Education for the next ten to fifteen years. In developing this policy, a number of independent individuals and organisations were asked to think about the long-term challenges facing the sector. This has resulted in a number of reports on issues such as 'Research Careers', 'Intellectual Property and research benefits' and 'Understanding Higher Education Institutional Performance'. These reports are available to comment on through the website. Don't miss this important opportunity to make your opinion heard as the policy develops.

Visit the DIUS website and get involved.

Biotechnology YES

The BBSRC Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs (YES) competition is held each year and is now in its 13th year. It aims to help the UK's early career bioscientists gain the skills and contacts needed to turn research into commercial reality. The video below gives a good overview of the 2008 competition (held in December) and reveals the winners.

Visit the Biotechnology YES website.

NEWBIO

As the integration of the Biosciences Federation and the Institute of Biology progresses, a new blog has been set up to enable members of those organisations to have their say on the new draft vision document. Comments will be discussed by the interim council. It is hoped that this integration will create a leading organisation for biology in the UK.

Visit the new blog and have your say.

Show me the money

China has announced plans to offer "outstanding" foreign scientists more research funding than they were receiving at home, in an attempt to bolster the Country's science base. It is hoped that the two projects coordinated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); 'Specially Hired Foreign Research Fellows' and 'Youth Foreign Scientist Project' will introduce more than 200 foreign research in total every year.

The plan has been welcomed with Yan Denghuam associate professor at the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower quoted as saying, "Foreign scientists' ideas and training can surely rub off on Chinese scientists".

Read the SciDev article in full

DIUS: Committee Verdict

The House of Commons Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee (chaired by Mr Phil Willis MP) have published their DIUS Departmental Report 2008 (Third Report of Session 2008-09).

The report suggests that communication within the department needs to be improved, moving away from jargon towards an increased level of transparency with ‘independently verified statistics’. The role of innovation in terms of how it is used within the department and how it is supported by the department was also scrutinised, with the report calling for ‘a clear statement from DIUS explaining how it is going to manage innovation and financial risk’.

The work of the new Government Chief Scientific Adviser was also reviewed, noting a change in approach in comparison with his predecessor. While some of the changes he is making (such as the speeding up of departmental science reviews) are welcomed, there are concerns that his ‘collegiate approach and desire to work within the Whitehall machine’ may muted the ‘customary, strong public voice from the Government Chief Scientific Adviser’.

Read the report in full online.

Mainstream QR funding quandary

Research Fortnight reports that HEFCE and Ministers face a tough decision on how to allocate the Mainstream QR funding of more than £900 million following the 2008 RAE.

In the 2008 RAE many universities with smaller volumes of research have succeeded in getting a relatively high percentage of their staff into categories 4* and 3*. Research Fortnight uses the University of Wolverhampton as an example: in 2001 the history department was rated 4 with everything else rated 3a or lower. However, in the 2008 RAE it submitted 151 staff in total and 30 per cent were categorised as 4* or 3*.

Success of this kind threatens to divert money from traditional recipients of Mainstream QR. The annual grant letter to HEFCE from DIUS setting out guidance is due this week. The HEFCE allocation announcement will be made on Thursday March 5

Research Fortnight (subscription required)

Happy New Year!

The Sciblorg will take a brief hiatus until January 19th 2009.
We'd like to wish everyone a very happy new year!