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Ref: 2142
Introduction:
The University of Western Australia is a high quality, medium-sized university with a broad and balanced coverage of disciplines in the arts, sciences and major professions. It is characterised by a strong research and postgraduate emphasis linked to a high quality undergraduate education, across the range of its disciplines; by selected areas of research concentration; and by an international focus for its activities and standards. (The University of Western Australia, Western Australia's Flagship University: A report from the Vice-Chancellor, Mission Statement.) UWA has a vision that in the 21st Century it will be recognised internationally as an excellent, research-intensive university and a leading intellectual and creative resource to the communities it serves. With this in mind one of its objectives is to recruit, retain and develop high quality researchers.
The University Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Scheme offers early-career researchers the opportunity to be part of this vision by enabling them to work at UWA with established researchers, access to high quality research facilities and opportunities to develop in their research careers.
The Scheme:
The principles governing University Postdoctoral Research Fellowships were first established by Resolution 17/73 of Research Committee. The principles have been revised on several occasions since then.
Applications must be endorsed, as detailed under section C (ii) below, by the head of the relevant School. Please note that schools may have their own closing date, possibly of several weeks prior to the closing date for submission to Human Resources for applications. Prospective applicants are therefore encouraged to contact the relevant school well before the closing date. Each School is eligible to submit applications for a University Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for consideration by Research Committee in accordance with the following:
- Schools with > 50 FTE academic staff may submit up to 3 applications per round
- Schools with 25-50 FTE academic staff may submit up to 2 applications per round
- Schools with < 25 FTE academic staff may submit 1 application per round
- Co-operative Research Centres and ARC Special Research Centres/ARC Centres of Excellence may submit 1 application per round
Where any conditions refer to “Schools” these apply also to Co-Operative Research Centres and ARC Special Research Centres/ARC Centres of Excellence and should be read accordingly.
Multidisciplinary applications in which discipline groups from different schools are involved may be submitted by Schools in addition to the above limits.
Research Committee will select up to 3 proposals this year where the case has been established for a postdoctoral research fellow who will bring special new expertise together with a high level of relevant experience not otherwise available to the School(s). Preference will be given to applications that are in one of the eight areas of strength and opportunity identified in the University’s Academic Profile:
- The exploration, production and exploitation of minerals, oil and gas.
- The management of agricultural and natural ecosystems.
- Genetic epidemiology.
- Humanities and Social Science, particularly collaborative interdisciplinary research.
- Health and biomedicine—injury research, prevention, repair and rehabilitation.
- Indigenous issues.
- Information technology, telecommunications and computer science.
- International management and business studies.
The head of school must provide, via the cover sheet, specific details of the resources which will be available to the fellow and the context in which the fellow will be attached to the school. The Research Committee will provide support for the salary and related on-costs, a Fellowship Support Grant and a contribution to the relocation expenses of the fellow.
With regard to tenure, there are two options under this scheme. With school approval, the successful fellow may opt for a 100% research appointment of 3 years' duration, or a 75% research, 25% teaching appointment of 4 years' duration. In the 75/25 case, the successful fellow will have a 75% research appointment funded under this scheme and a 25% teaching appointment funded by the relevant school. The applicant must discuss the options with the head of the proposed school. It will not be necessary to make a decision as to which is the preferred option at application stage.
Proposals for University Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are invited once a year in about December, with a closing date, for this round, of Friday 11 April 2008.
(a) Eligibility:
(i) The University Postdoctoral Research Fellowship scheme is open to all, irrespective of nationality or residence at the time of application. Appointment of a Fellow who does not hold Australian citizenship or permanent resident status is subject to the Australian Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs' approval of UWA's sponsorship for residence, and the Fellow's successful application for an appropriate visa.
(ii) A condition of application for a University Postdoctoral Research Fellowship is that the successful applicant must, if eligible, apply in the next round for an ARC, NHMRC or equivalent Fellowship to be held at UWA. University Postdoctoral Research Fellowship appointees who are offered such Fellowships to be held at UWA are required to accept the Fellowship and will normally take up duty between 1 January and 30 June in the year for which the Fellowship was awarded, and so release funds to appoint additional University Postdoctoral Research Fellows in future rounds.
(iii) Fellowships are normally awarded to accomplished research workers who have held a PhD or equivalent qualification for not more than five years and show evidence of research potential.
(iv) Offers will normally be made to applicants who have completed the PhD requirements. However, where an offer is made to an applicant who has not completed the PhD requirements, the offer shall be conditional upon:
- the PhD requirements being completed before the date of appointment; and
- the appointment being taken up by 31 October in the year of award.
In the case where the applicant has not yet submitted his/her PhD, a letter from his/her supervisor should be attached giving an indication of the likely submission date.
(v) Fellowships are not normally available to immediate PhD graduates of The University of Western Australia, since it is Research Committee's intention to provide an infusion of ability and expertise from outside; however, graduates of the University who have spent some years elsewhere since graduation are considered equally with those from other universities.
(vi) Fellowships are not normally available to staff of The University of Western Australia, except for staff employed on casual or contract appointments who first commenced employment in the year of, or the year prior to, the year in which applications are due.
(vii) Where an applicant is requesting that any of the "normally" clauses in (a) (iii) to (vi) above be waived, the Head of School should address this in the cover sheet.
(b) Tenure/Support:
(i) Subject to satisfactory progress, tenure shall normally be for three years in the case of a 100% research appointment and 4 years in the case of a 75% research/25% teaching appointment.
(ii) Short-term visits of less than one year are excluded from consideration.
(iii) The salary range for fellowships is the top three points of the Level A range ($61,827 - $66,367 per annum at December 2007)
(iv) The starting salary will be determined by Research Committee in each case based on such factors as duration of the fellow's postdoctoral research experience, the particular field, the outstanding quality, and other special circumstances. Heads of School should address these factors in a covering letter if recommending to Research Committee a starting salary above the minimum of the range.
(v) All fellows will move up the salary range by single annual increments, but there is no provision for promotion.
(vi) A Fellowship Support Grant of $6,000 pa will be awarded to all fellows for expenditure associated with their fellowship. The funds will be held in the fellow's school for use by the fellow during the period of the fellowship. Fellows opting for the 75/25 option will receive a pro-rata support grant of $4,500 pa
(vii) Relocation allowances for appointees are applicable and will be in accordance with University policy.
(viii) Fellows who are appointed for three years are required to join UniSuper Defined Benefit Division/Accumulation 2 Fund. Fellows who wish to make alternative arrangements must contact the Superannuation Officer on 6488 3042.
(ix) Fellows, who opt for the 100% research appointment, may take part in school teaching programmes. The maximum payment for any teaching work shall be restricted to 10% of the fellow's salary each year. Any payment for teaching must come from part-time teaching or other reserves already available to the school concerned. However, the teaching ability of the applicant is not taken into account in the awarding of the Fellowship.
(x) Fellows may commence their appointments as soon as possible, but no later than 31 October in the year of award.
(c) Conditions:
(i) Each School is eligible to submit applications for a University Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for consideration by Research Committee in accordance with the following:
- Schools with > 50 FTE academic staff may submit up to 3 applications per round
- Schools with 25-50 FTE academic staff may submit up to 2 applications per round
- Schools with < 25 FTE academic staff may submit 1 application per round
- Co-operative Research Centres and ARC Special Research Centres/ARC Centres of Excellence may submit 1 application per round
Where any conditions refer to “Schools” these apply also to Co-Operative Research Centres and ARC Special Research Centres/ARC Centres of Excellence and should be read accordingly.
In addition Schools may submit multidisciplinary applications where discipline groups from different schools are involved.
Where a School is involved in more than one proposal, there is no need to rank the proposals - a separate letter must be provided for each proposal. It should be noted that Research Committee is keen to receive broad-based, collaborative and inter-disciplinary projects, particularly in areas of strength and opportunity identified in the University’s Academic Profile and listed above.
(ii) Applications must be endorsed by the Head of School. The Head of School must explain, via the cover sheet, the anticipated benefit from the appointment of a postdoctoral research fellow. The case must be that a fellow will bring special new expertise together with a high level of relevant experience which is not otherwise available to the school, and that this is necessary either for the specific proposal, or to bring together separate groups from within or outside the school.
(iii) Schools must provide, via the cover sheet, specific details of the resources that will be available to the fellow and the context in which the fellow will be attached to the school.
(iv) The Head of School should also describe under which of the 8 areas of strength and opportunity identified in the University’s Academic Profile the proposal falls. Alternatively the case must be made for the area of research/expertise if it does not fall within one of these areas
(v) Fellows will be required to submit an annual progress report. At the conclusion of the Fellowship, fellows are required to submit a report of their research activities to the Research Committee, including details of papers published, or in print. The proforma for this report can be downloaded [PDF] [RTF].
(d) Applications:
Note: Applications will not be subject to expert assessment. They will be judged by a lay panel consisting of academic staff of the University from each of the major disciplines areas. Applicants should ensure that all aspects of their applications can be easily understood by academics from outside their discipline area. Please note that applications that are not easily understood by the panel are unlikely to rank high enough to be successful.
There is no specific application form or set format, but applications must include:
(A) The cover sheet (which can be downloaded [PDF] [RTF]) completed and signed by the applicant (Part A) and the Head of School (Part B), which the applicant must arrange. It is preferred that the Head of School provide a number ranking for the application on how relevant they feel the expertise is for the school. It is also preferred that the Head of School provide a brief explanation as to how they came up with the ranking.
(B) The Proposal:
NOTE: A minimum of 12 size font is to be used for all sections.
(i) Project objectives (one A4 page maximum). State the broad long-term objectives and describe concisely and realistically what the specific research described in this application is intended to accomplish.
(ii) Critical assessment (two A4 pages maximum). Critically evaluate existing knowledge and specifically identify the gaps the present proposal is intended to fill.
(iii) Preliminary studies (one A4 page maximum). Briefly describe what (if any) preliminary studies have been undertaken for the proposed project.
(iv) Outline design/procedures/methodologies (four A4 pages maximum). Outline the experimental design and/or the procedures to be used to accomplish the specific aims of the project. Where appropriate, describe any new methodology and its advantage over existing methodologies. Discuss potential difficulties and limitations of proposed procedures and alternative approaches, where feasible, to achieve the aims. Provide a tentative sequence or timetable for the investigation.
(v) The proposal must include one paragraph, indicating where the research proposed is likely to lead at the conclusion of the fellowship.
(C) Applicant's curriculum vitae (five A4 pages maximum). Provide details of career history, awards, distinctions and research achievements.
Additionally, a full list of publications over the past five years (2003 to 2007), including page numbers, separated into: (a) refereed papers as sole author; (b) books; (c) refereed papers as joint author; (d) chapters; (e) conference papers; and (f) other publications (please put an asterisk against relevant publications) is to be provided. In the case of publications which are "accepted", a letter from the publisher, confirming the acceptance must be submitted. Applicants should comment on the ranking of the journals in which they have published and on the ISI indices as appropriate. (Please note that these indices will not be appropriate for all disciplines. If in doubt applicants should seek advice from the relevant School).
(D) Three referees' reports should be either attached to the application or emailed to referee-reports@admin.uwa.edu.au by the closing date. The template for the referee report can be downloaded here [PDF,RTF]. If the referees' reports are not received by the closing date, the case for the nominee will be weakened considerably. Any reports, including letters of support, received in excess of three will be disregarded.
(E) UWA Application Cover Sheet 'Gold Form' which can be downloaded from http://www.research.uwa.edu.au/page/88833. The Application Cover Sheet has to be signed by the applicant and the Head of School.
(e) Selection Criteria:
Applicants will be judged by a lay panel consisting of academic staff of the University from each of the major disciplines areas. Applicants should ensure that their project proposal can be easily understood by academics from outside their discipline area.
The panel will consider:
(1) The excellence of the proposal (preference will be given to proposals which fall within the 8 areas of strength and opportunity of the University as listed above) (40%)
(2) The relevant experience taking into account the referees’ reports and the track record (ie the publications, career history, awards, distinctions and research achievements) of the applicant (50%)
(3) The case for bringing new expertise to the School(s) (10%)
(f) Submitting the Application:
An original and 6 copies of all parts of the application quoting the reference number: 2142 should be submitted through the relevant School to the Director, Human Resources, The University of Western Australia, M350, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 by 5pm on the closing date.
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