Initiating research careers in Maths

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Initiating research careers in Maths

• HoDoMS
• 7th April 2006.

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Initiating research careers

• Doctoral training
• Postdoctoral fellowships
• First grants

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Mathematical Sciences Programme Priorities

• The exploitation and generation of new knowledge
  are both recognised as key components of
  research
• Researchers can develop skills and build research
  capabilities to address challenges now and in the
  future
• Collaboration with colleagues in other
  disciplines or in other countries is welcomed and
  encouraged
• Current and future leaders of research are
  motivated and supported

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Doctoral Training

• The panel found that a typical UK PhD Programme
  is of shorter duration and more narrowly focused
  than those in other countries. As a result, new
  PhDs from the UK usually have less breadth and
  experience than their peers from other countries
  and have difficulty competing for research
  fellowships and academic posts
• -IRM Panel

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PhD training

• Universities responsible for quality
• EPSRC
• is only one of the resource providers
• cannot require universities to change their
  teaching strategy
• can choose to distribute our resources to those
  universities that we believe provide the best
  training

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PhD training

• Need to maximise the resources we have to benefit
  the UK
• Pump priming PhD taught course centres
• pilot programmes
• EPSRC funding short term (one-off)
• Any investment conditional upon the universities
  committing to a continuing effort after the
  initial investment
• Closing date 25th May
• Courses available to their first intake of
  students Oct 07.

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PhD taught course centres

• Aim
• Add breadth and/or depth
• Raise the international academic profile of the
  UK PhD
• Add value to existing provision
• As a result PhD students should be
• Broadly trained, competitive in international
  market
• Making mature/informed decisions about future
  research

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PhD taught course centres

• How
• This is up to you
• Deliberately flexible within some constraints
• Not one size fits all
• Subject focussed / broad
• Regional / national
• Real/virtual
• Centres provide leadership
• Improving quality
• Sharing best practice and expertise
• Access to students from a range of institutions

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Doctoral Training Accounts- Why?

• To provide universities with maximum flexibility
  in managing their research studentship
  population.
• Wide range of options in the way that funds are
  used.
• offer stipends above EPSRC's required minimum,
• offer longer support if a project requires it
• can switch funding to other areas of related
  expenditure, such as consumables, travel,
  conferences, external training courses and career
  guidance
• can be used to provide taught elements
• pool with other departments and/or leveraged
  against industrial funding
• can be used for MRes
• offer summer internships for 2nd year
  undergraduate
• In Maths there is also some level of guaranteed
  income for most departments- so you can appoint
  the best students at an early stage

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DTA Allocation Mechanism

• All Departments with any current or announced
  research grant or fellowship income from the
  Mathematical Sciences Programme at (1 September
  2005) are eligible to receive DTA funding.
• There is an INSTITUTIONAL threshold of 3
  studentships, below which the DTG is not
  announced. Any doctoral training money earned
  and not awarded is held (in the bank) and added
  to the next years allocation.

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How can I increase my departments studentship
funding from EPSRC?

• Research grants jointly funded with other EPSRC
  Programmes earn DTA funding via the algorithm
• Project studentships on research grants (can be 4
  years)
• Maths CASE
• CASE for new academic appointees

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DTA Allocation Mechanism

• Current mechanism developed by Adrian Smith et al
  prior to the introduction of DTAs in 2001.
• An algorithm based on research grant income is
  not an appropriate way of allocating the
  Mathematical Sciences Programme doctoral training
  grant funds
• Training resources allocated primarily on the
  basis of data and information provided by
  departments, advised by peer review.

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DTA Allocation Mechanism

• the amount of funding a mathematical sciences
  department receives from this exercise is
  determined by the information in the proforma,
  taken with data provided by EPSRC, judged against
  the published criteria.

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Example Research Environment and Departmental
Strategy

• Department provides details of
• New appointments
• research and student recruitment strategies,
• joint research training with other departments
• marks of research distinction including esteem
  factors and non-EPSRC fellowships,
• major non-EPSRC research funding,
• external research collaborations etc.
• Number of mathematical sciences students
  irrespective of funding source.
• EPSRC provides
• Number and value of EPSRC research grants funded
  through the Mathematical Sciences Programme.
• No. of EPSRC Postdoctoral, Advanced and Senior
  fellowships.

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DTA Allocation Mechanism- Resources

• Baseline for all departments based on 80 of
  previous years allocation from the Mathematical
  Sciences Programme (total allocations can include
  DTG funds from other EPSRC Programmes)
• unless this takes the allocation below 1
  studentship (60k) when baseline is zero.
• First two years allocations based on studentship
  pool data.
• Redistribution of top-sliced 20 to move away
  from historical profile reward excellence in
  training

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DTA Allocation Mechanism

• Messages from departments and the allocation
  panels that
• Profile no longer accurate
• Based on data now approaching 10 years old
• Time for a re-evaluation, or comprehensive review
  of the allocations

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DTA Allocation Mechanism the way forward?

• Programme to decide the allocations to
  departments from the bottom up
• NOT via an algorithm
• When? RAE 2008?
• What data would be needed to do this properly?
• What should the criteria be?
• What happens in subsequent years?
• Do you think this is a good idea? SAT
  consultation later in 2006.

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Postdoctoral Fellowships

• Awarded to talented young researchers to enable
  them to establish an independent research career
  directly or shortly after completing their PhD.

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Postdoctoral Fellowships 2006 awards
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Postdoctoral Fellowships 2006 exercise
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Postdoctoral Fellowships

• 77 of applicants rejected before interview
• 20 of applications sift rejected before panel
• Consequences
• high cost (time money) of
• Preparing application, including JeS, HoD time
  etc.
• Peer review of low quality PDF applications
• How to
• Reduce number of low quality applications
• e.g. Departmental cap- but disadvantages to
  this too
• Increase number of high quality applications
• e.g. Support from departments shown to increase
  funding rates e.g. Kent 50

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Early career researchers- new appointments

• First grant funding rates

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Early career researchers- new appointments

• First grant applications
• Some excellent, others disappointing
• Should never be a badly written proposal
• Make contact with EPSRC at an early stage
• Mock panels
• Departmental visits (team or APM)
• How to nurture early career researchers?

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Summary and Key Messages

• Early stages of research careers vitally
  important for achieving future goals
• Investment in pump priming taught courses
• Rethinking the DTG allocations profile to better
  reflect current situation
• Need to reduce numbers of low quality PDF
  applications
• Support for new academic appointments