University of Surrey - EPSRC Capital Award Emphasising Support for Early Career Researchers (ECRs)

早期职业研究人员(ECR)对于任何研究型大学的成功都是至关重要的，他们通过创新想法、采用领先的技术和方法，以及通过参与其系、系和大学本身的更广泛活动，帮助创建充满活力和活力的研究文化，从而塑造未来的研究方案和战略。为了有最好的机会发展成为国际知名的研究领导者，这些ECR需要他们所在大学的正确支持。这种支持包括提供或使用最先进的设备，这些设备往往是进行最高质量研究所必需的。使用最先进的设备进入世界级实验室可以代表一项重要的独特能力，当然，具有新奇的想法和获得设备并不是决定研究人员在职业发展中取得多大成功的唯一因素。越来越多地，成功来自于能够在专注于应对复杂和困难挑战的多学科团队中工作。因此，ECR在发展他们的网络方面也需要支持，并鼓励与其他学术机构以及工业、政府和第三部门的研究用户的合作。通过EPSRC授予的GB 150k，萨里大学打算确保我们向一般研究人员，特别是ECR扩展可用的设备能力。我们正在寻找我们能力上的阶段性变化。为了实现这一目标，我们将最多颁发三个奖项，以确保资源不会分配得太少。此外，我们将把EPSRC的资金与大学的投资相匹配，总共提供300K GB的资金。每个奖项的首席调查员(PI)将是一名ECR。PI所在的系主任将在整个赠款期间为设备提供技术支持，PI每周至少有6个小时参与项目。大学还将通过鼓励大学内外合作的程序授予设备。我们将首先明确规定，只有在首席调查员之外必须至少有一个其他合格的ECR的合作调查团队才能获奖。我们还将坚持，设备上可用时间的10%至30%应该提供给合作团队以外的更广泛的研究社区。这不仅鼓励开发新的网络，还将鼓励新的研究计划，因为社区向我们的团队提出他们自己的研究想法。

Early Career Researchers (ECRs) are vital to the success of any research university, shaping future research programmes and strategy through the novelty of their ideas, through the leading techniques and methods they employ and by helping create a vibrant and dynamic research culture through their participation in the wider activities of their departments, faculties and the University itself. To have the best chance to develop into internationally regarded research leaders, these ECRs need the right support from their Universities. That support includes provision of, or access to, the state-of-art equipment which is often necessary to conduct the highest quality research. Access to World Class Laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment can represent an important distinctive capabilityOf course, having novel ideas and access to equipment are not the only factors that will determine how successful a researcher will be in developing their careers. Increasingly, success comes from being able to work in multidisciplinary teams focused on tackling complex and difficult challenges. Thus, ECRs also need support in developing their networks and encouraging collaborations with other academics and with the user of research in industry, government and the third sector.With this award of £150k from the EPSRC, the University of Surrey intends to ensure that we extend the equipment capabilities available to researchers in general and to ECRs in particular. We are looking for a step-change difference in our capability. To achieve this we will make a maximum of three awards ensuring that resources are not spread too thinly. In addition, we will match the EPSRC funds with a University investment making £300k available in total. The Principal Investigator (PI) for each award will be an ECR. The Head of Department within which the PI is based will provide technical support for the equipment throughout the grant period and at least 6 hours per week for the PI to engage on the project.The University will also award the equipment through a process that will encourage collaboration both within the University and beyond. We will do this first be specifying that awards will only be made to a collaborative team of investigators within which there must be at least one other eligible ECRs beyond the Principal Investigator. We will also insist that between 10% and 30% of the time available on the equipment should be made available to the wider research community beyond the collaborative team. This will not only provide an incentive to develop new networks but will also serve to encourage new research programmes as the community approach our team with research ideas of their own.