Afterwards

EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowships

Application Deadline: usually start of the summer each year

Interviews take place in August for a September start (although candidates can start their project up to 12 months after first submission).

The EPSRC Doctoral Prize is a prestigious scheme aimed at developing the very best EPSRC funded students beyond the end of their PhD and help them launch a successful career in research as potential future research leaders.

Successful applicants will be expected to take their research to the next level and undertake significant new research; the Prize must not be viewed merely as an opportunity to continue/complete PhD work although continuation of specific work from the applicants’ PhD that will result in publications may be permitted. Benefits

The University will provide Fellows with excellent research and training environments including a first class and challenging career development training programme. In addition to a Project Sponsor (a research - active member of The University’s academic staff who is willing to support an applicant’s project and, where appropriate, host the project in their lab), recipients of a Prize will also have access to an academic mentor who will offer advice and support regarding the mentee’s research and career development throughout the duration of the award. Successful applicants will be awarded a tax-free living allowance of £24,370 per annum (pro rata).

Award duration

Awards of up to 12 months in the first instance are available to successful candidates. How to apply

All applications should be made in accordance with the scheme’s guidelines, which can be found at the end of the application form (see links to application documentation below). Applicants must include a work plan that takes into account the impact of COVID 19 on the project deliverables.

Candidates must have been funded for their PhD by the EPSRC in the form of fees and/or stipend and have submitted their PhD thesis no more than 12 months before commencing the EPSRC Doctoral Prize fellowship.

The deadline for application is typically start of November.

Full applications, including application form and a letter of support from the Head of Department where the EPSRC Doctoral Prize research will be carried out should be returned by e-mail to epsgraded@manchester.ac.uk. Please note that the word counts and page limits listed on the application forms are not flexible.

Candidates will be shortlisted and interviewed by a panel of senior academics. The decision of the panel is final. Contacts

If you have any queries regarding the University’s EPSRC Doctoral Prize scheme please contact the Postgraduate Research Services Team (epsgraded@manchester.ac.uk; +44 (0)161 306 8694).

Commercialise Your Research

The UoM Innovation Factory: Helping you commercialise your research

During your time at The University of Manchester, you might formulate ideas or undertake research with valuable potential. If so, the Innovation Factory is a resource you should consider engaging with.

What is the Innovation Factory?

The Innovation Factory is dedicated to driving the commercialisation of the University’s innovations and intellectual property (IP). Our core mission is to use this IP to create positive social, economic, and environmental impact. We work with academic and student inventors to identify research that has the potential to create value. We then translate these into a form where they can be used to benefit society.

How the Innovation Factory Operates

At any point in time, we are supporting dozens of projects from the various faculties, so we utilise a transparent process for the largest impact. We use a stage gate process to effectively capture and rapidly evaluate new inventions coming out of the UoM, enabling us to focus our resources on those innovations which have the greatest chance of generating future social and economic impact.

Opportunities passing through the system must meet certain requirements before they can pass through a gate. By the time a project gets to the later stages of the process, the value of the project is fully understood, the IP is protected, the value of the opportunity is defined, and a commercialisation plan has been developed. At this point the project will be in a state where it can be presented to a potential investor or licensee.

The process also lets us proactively share opportunities with companies across the globe. Once the company has been set up, we still continue to engage with licensees and spinout companies, to maximise the impact that a piece of research will have.

Industry contacts, case studies and commercialisation topic guides

You’re in good hands with us. We have a team of industry experts specially curated to help you translate your ideas and research into a form to benefit society as a whole: https://www.uominnovationfactory.com/academics/faculty-contacts/

Curious about the kind of projects we have supported in the past? Check out our extensive gallery of case studies at: https://www.uominnovationfactory.com/projects/

Not ready to speak to anyone but want more information on commercialisation? We have created many guides on various topics, including Intellectual Property, Licensing and creating Spin-Out companies. These guides are hosted at Translation Manchester’s website and can be located at: https://www.translation.manchester.ac.uk