A new application form has been developed by a working group consisting of current VU Research Fellowship representatives, a Dean and Institute executive directors, reducing the word limits for compulsory questions from at least 2300 words to 550 words.
VU Research Fellowship FTE Allocations for 2021 will now be offered in increments of 0.1 FTE and be fixed for the whole of 2021. The VU Research Fellowship FTE allocation will include the research time, HDR supervision time and externally funded research time. The workload arising from fluctuations in HDR supervision (and externally funded time) will be monitored three times during the year and any difference will be added or subtracted as an adjustment to the VU Research Fellowship in 2022. These adjustment figures will be advised to VU Research Fellows during the application round for 2022.
A provisional track-record selection criterion score (worth 40% of the overall score for any application) will now be calculated using MORA. The Institute panels will adjust this score in light of performance in 2020 (outside the MORA data-collection period), and factors affecting research career opportunity. Academic staff will be advised their provisional score, based on their MORA while applications are open, and when provisional MORAs have been calculated using the recently revised procedure.
VU Research Fellowships up to 3 years will be offered to academics selected from those who the Institute Panel recommends to receive a research allocation of 0.4FTE. Three year VU Research Fellowships will be offered subject to continued high performance, and recipients will be required to report on their progress annually.
Applications for Bridging Support will now normally be expected (where practical) before an academic takes extended Parental, Sick, or Carer’s Leave. This will provide academics seeking Bridging Support more certainty and facilitate their planning before returning from leave.
An Out-of-Cycle round will be held in the first half of 2021 for College-based academics who are on extended leave covering the period 1-14 October 2020. VU Research Fellowships offered in the 2021 Out-of-Cycle round will run from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2021.