Collaborative Supervisor-led Competition

The supervisor phase of the SENSS collaborative competition is now OPEN!

What is this competition for?

In this competition, you - the primary supervisor - develop a research question and proposal in conjunction with a collaborative partner, and apply to SENSS for one of up to eight ring-fenced collaborative studentships to work on this proposal with you.

Who can be a collaborative partner? 

You can approach any non-Higher Education Institution (non-HEI), that is, a business, government, or third sector organization to be your collaborative partner. Your non-HEI partner must make a financial or in-kind contribution to the studentship. We strongly encourage you to seek a financial contribution (up to a maximum of 50%), as this might count in your favour in the competition.

What research proposals are eligible?

Your research proposal must be based primarily in one of the 6 SENSS Themes - for a list of these, please click here. You can only enter this competition if your home university is a member of the Theme for which you wish to submit an application.

The annual SENSS supervisor-led collaborative competition for funded studentships will reopen in mid-August for a studentship to start in October 2026. The call for Supervisor-led Collaborative Studentship Research Project Proposals is available here.

What are the criteria for this competition?

The assessment criteria are available in our detailed Guidance for supervisors (available here.) Essentially, your competition entry will be judged on the quality of your research proposal and your collaboration, the suitability of your project for a studentship, and the quality of the student training you will offer.

Is there any additional guidance for this competition?

  • The competition policy document is available here.

  • The SENSS Director is offering two webinars, which will talk supervisors through the application process, and answer any questions they might have. To register for the webinars, please use the following links:

  • A flowchart of the competition process can be found here. We have also produced a document which replicates what questions are asked through our online application platform (HEIapply) and this can be found here.

  • SENSS has produced a one-page document, available here, which explains what a collaborative research project is. This may be useful to share with your proposed collaborative partner when talking to them about making an application.

  • Examples of previous successful applications are available here and another here.

  • You will need to provide a letter of support from your collaborative partner as part of your application. A template of this letter is available here.

  • As part of your application you are required to upload a draft advert and marketing plan. A template for this advert is available here and advice on preparing an advertising and marketing plan is available here. You will need to work with the SENSS core team to finalise these if you are successful. An example of a previous successful project webpage is available here.

  • If you have any queries which are not answered here or in the Guidance notes, please email the SENSS Director, Prof. Fragkiskos Filippaios, who will be able to provide advice (director@senss-dtp.ac.uk).