Distinguished Visitor, May 2025
SUPA invites all members of the community to submit an application to bring a distinguished visitor to Scotland. The visit can last from 1 week to 3 months. Funding of £3500 is available. Only 1 visitor will be selected.
The visitor will be asked to present the keynote talk at the SUPA Annual Gathering. Therefore, the visitor must be present in Scotland and is expected to attend the Annual Gathering in the last week of May 2025.
The visitor is encouraged to offer seminars, workshops or lectures for graduate students and these should be described in the application. These lectures should complement current SUPA courses. Applications should also describe the potential for collaborative research during the visit and in the future.
A one-page report on the visit must be submitted within one month of the end of the visit. This report should assess the impact of the visit and include a brief breakdown of the financial claim which will be made to SUPA.
Applications will be available soon.
Applications will close at the end of January 2025 and a decision will be announced within 2 weeks.
SUPA and SAGES Collaboration
SUPA and the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment and Society, SAGES, are collaborating to offer kickstart funding to foster collaborations between our members. Our hope is that these collaborations will develop proof-of-concept work for longer, in-depth collaborations, publications, and follow-up applications to larger funding schemes.
PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and all members of the SUPA community are welcome to apply jointly with a member of SAGES. This fund will provide up to £1000 for the SUPA researcher, and an additional £1000 for the SAGES researcher.
Funds can pay for collaborative research expenses, including fieldwork, lab equipment, the organisation of a workshop, a visit to a project partner to conduct collaborative laboratory work or finalise a larger grant proposal, etc.
This call is now open with an application deadline of Thursday 26 September 2024. Full details of this funding opportunity and application form can be found on the SAGES website, https://sages.ac.uk/sages-supa-collaboration-scheme/.
Need help finding a collaborator? SUPA and SAGES can help.
To be kept up to date with the latest opportunities, please ensure you are signed up to the All-SUPA mailing list, and the SUPA newsletter.
SUPA is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in all supported activities.
International Research Visits and Collaborations **Funding Closed**
This fund enabled SUPA researchers to gain new skills and experiences, while strengthening or establishing international research collaborations. Collaborations could be with academic, industrial or other partners located in any country outside the UK. Applicants were encouraged to use this funding to travel as part of a research collaboration. However, those who could not travel but wanted to work with international collaborators were also encouraged to apply. In that case, funding could be used to ship samples or supplies internationally, and for other expenses related to an international collaboration.
SUPA welcomed applications from postgraduate, postdoctoral and early career researchers. Early career researchers are defined as having completed their doctorate in the last 7 years (full time equivalent).
Full information on what costs were eligible, including those arising from reasonable adjustments, as well as the application form are all available on the International Research Visits and Collaborations dedicated webpage.
Saltire Emerging Researcher Visits **Funding Closed**
This one-time specially offered fund from the Scottish Government supported developing the next generation of researchers and the forming and strengthening of European collaborations. Doctoral students and early career researchers were eligible to apply for up to £10,000 for a visit of up to 6 months either from Scotland to Europe, or from Europe to Scotland.
Full information on what costs were eligible, including those arising from reasonable adjustments, as well as the application form and guidelines are all available on the Saltire Visits dedicated webpage.
Funding for Meetings and Events **Funding Closed**
SUPA can occasionally provide financial assistance for events held in Scotland and organised by members of SUPA, either as a standalone SUPA event, or in partnership with other organisations. The aim of this funding is to enhance the reputation of Scottish physics research at the top internationally competitive levels through collaboration, and to provide opportunities for research students and postdoctoral researchers within SUPA to increase their knowledge and experience while expanding their networks.
SUPA Meetings & Events funding was awarded on a rolling basis consistent with set criteria. Funding was available for both small meetings, e.g. £500, and larger meetings with a contribution normally up to a maximum of £2000. Please visit the Meetings & Events page for further information including:
- Guidelines
- Event Checklist (a good practice guide to making events accessible to all, updated January 2022)
- Application Form (in both Word and PDF)
- Examples of previously funded meetings and events
Funding for Distinguished Visitors **Funding Closed**
SUPA has provided funding for bringing many Distinguished Visitors to Scotland. The aim of this fund was to promote international collaborations with top research institutions and researchers from around the world. As well as engaging in research collaborations with SUPA researchers at all levels, the visitors were expected to give talks and lectures that covered latest advances in their fields, providing opportunities for research students and postdoctoral researchers within SUPA to increase their knowledge of latest trends in top level research. Please visit the Distinguished Visitor page for further information.
SUSSP Summer Schools
Scottish Universities Summer Schools in Physics (SUSSP) has been organising international summer schools in Scotland on advanced specialist topics in physics for PhD students and PDRAs annually since 1960. SUSSP exists as a separate registered charity; the SUPA Executive Committee are Trustees of SUSSP. SUPA makes an annual financial contribution directly to the organisers of each School.
Suggestions for topics and proposals to organise future SUSSP Schools should be made to the Chair of SUSSP (currently Prof John Jeffers, U.Strathclyde).
To apply to attend a SUSSP school as a participant, applications should be made directly to the Director of an individual School, information for which will be made available on the SUPA website when available.
More information is available on the Summer School's website, where you can sign up to be notified of updates when the new dates are announced.
PEER & PECRE
PEER (Pools Engagement in European Research) and PECRE (Postdoctoral & Early Career Researcher Exchanges in Europe, North America, China & India) has been a separate SFC funding allocation to all research pools. The final tranche of PEER and PECRE funding from SFC has been fully committed.