All-expenses-paid networking in Thailand, Mexico, Brazil or Turkey …
Do you fancy an all-expenses-paid trip to a meeting where you can present your work, network with senior researchers in your field, get inspired and eat good food in the sun? If you’re a UK-based early career researcher (of any nationality), it might be closer than you think.
And if the days of your ‘early career’ are past, applications are still being accepted for funding to run similar events.
There are four Researcher Links workshops open for applications at the moment:
1. Plant Pathology, Thailand, 16-19 February 2015. Apply by 31 October (very tight deadline!). The workshop theme is plant-pathogen interactions with an emphasis on studies of pathogen and host diversity, infection and defense mechanisms, as well as disease protection.
2. Plant Parasite Interactions to Improve Crop Production, Mexico, 3-6 February 2015. Apply by 10 November. During the workshop early career researchers will have the opportunity to present their research in the form of a short oral presentation and discuss this with established researchers from the UK and Mexico.
3. Using systems and synthetic biology to tailor plant cell walls for a better future, Brazil, 9-12 March 2015. Apply by 5 December. Participants will develop a joint research agenda to build a sustainable UK-Brazil Plant Cell Wall community and draft interdisciplinary project ideas aimed at tailoring plant cell walls for a better future.
4. Latest Technologies for Crop Improvement, Turkey, 22-26 February 2015. Apply by 20 December. The workshop aims to bring together leading researchers and mentors, young early career research scientists and industrialists for the plant breeding sectors, providing a unique opportunity for exchanging knowledge, sharing best practice in crop improvement and networking.
It looks as though there will be about 15 researchers from each partner country present, which is quite a lot given the restriction on career stage and workshop themes. If your work is related to any of the above areas, please check out the websites for more details and seriously think about applying. International collaboration strengthens UK plant science (see the UKPSF report!) and a good network of contacts is networking is essential for an early career researcher.
Researcher links
The British Council Researcher Links scheme launched last year. It provides two streams of funding: workshop organisation, like the events above; and travel grants. They are intended to support social and economic development in partner countries, but the list of relevant areas include agriculture, climate and environment. Applications to both streams of funding close on 20 November 2014.
Travel grants enable early career researchers to spend between three and six months in a lab in a partner country. Funding covers travel, visas, insurance, subsistence, consumables and support for childcare or other personal needs. This is currently only open to collaborations between the UK and Egypt, Kazakhstan and the Philippines.
Workshops for early career researchers can be organised by ‘Leading Researchers’ from the UK and a partner country.
Image Credit: Plaza de Guanajuato, Mexico. By Jose Carlos Soto. Via Flickr.
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