Collaborative Supervisor-led Competition

The annual SENSS supervisor-led collaborative competition for funded studentships has now closed for applying for a studentship to start in October 2024. 

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 several 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.

What are the criteria for this competition?

The assessment criteria are available in our detailed Guidance for supervisors notes. 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.

• A webinar was held last month for prospective applicants. A recording of it can be viewed here. Among other things, it deals with what SENSS is and the funding opportunities it offers, what makes a successful collaborative competition application, and what role the doctoral researcher will play in the collaborative project.

• 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 collaborative awards made by SeNSS DTP1 are 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 help (director@senss-dtp.ac.uk).

What do I need to do if I am successful in this competition?

• You will need to work with the SENSS core team to produce an advert for applications for your studentship (a template for this advert is available here) and a marketing plan for recruiting to the studentship.