Research and knowledge exchange

Harry Kroto Fellowships

Named after Nobel Prize winner Professor Sir Harry Kroto, this University scheme aims to consolidate sustainable collaborative research with international partner institutions and to provide Sussex’s Early Career Lecturers/Researchers with opportunities to establish their research trajectories and generate research income.

Harry Kroto Fellowships

Harry KrotoSir Harry Kroto holds a model of a Buckyball on the day in 1996 when he learned that he was to receive the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for discovering the form of carbon

The scheme aims to:

  • initiate and strengthen meaningful and concrete international research collaborations
  • provide specific support for our Early Career Lecturers/Researchers as they establish their research trajectories and international networks,
  • increase internationally co-authored publications,
  • increase and diversify our sources of funding through internationally collaborative grant applications, and
  • enable our Early Career Lecturers/Researchers to work with the best institutions in the world for their research. 

The overseas visits can be for a period of between 2 weeks and 3 months. An especially compelling casewill be expected for a visit approaching 3 months' duration.  We anticipate that between 4 and 8 awards will be made annually.

Activities: 

During the overseas visit Harry Kroto Fellows will be expected to initiate or develop a programme of research leading to substantive joint funding proposals and co-publications, enhancing Sussex’s research reputation and driving up research income. The expectation is that outputs resulting from the visit will be attributed to Sussex.

Applicants may be expected to deliver a guest lecture, research seminars or PhD workshops at their host institution but should not be expected to deliver core teaching. 

Funding:

Funds can be used for travel, accommodation, incidential and specific research expenses and should
include any bench fees that may be charged by the host instittution. Given the range of possible locations
for visits, award values will vary but the expected maximum value is £5,000. When putting together your application please refer to the Costing Guidelines.

Eligible applicants:

The Harry Kroto Fellowships are open to Early Career Researchers from all disciplines. The scheme is particularly directed towards those appointed on Teaching and Research contracts, in order to enable them to embark upon an independent research trajectory in tandem with the development of their teaching role at Sussex.

  • For the purpose of this scheme, early career researchers are defined as those who have no more than 7 years of relevant academic research experience (excluding any period of doctoral study) at the deadline (2 May 2017). 
  • Applications are welcomed from those who have taken a non-standard career path and the period of academic research experience does not have to be continuous.
  • Fellowships are open to early career researchers from all disciplines.  
  • Staff on fixed-term contracts are eligible provided their contract lasts for one year beyond the end date of the proposed visit.  
  • Staff employed as postdoctoral fellows on externally funded projects must demonstrate in their application that the funder approves, that the aims of the funded project will be furthered as a result of the visit, and that the PI supports the application.
  • Staff on teaching-only contracts and PhD students are not eligible to apply.  

Eligible institutions: 

Applicants are invited to work with whichever institution outside of the UK is most appropriate for the intended outputs, and we particularly welcome applications to work with the University’s designated strategic partners. A full list of these specific partners is available on the International Office website.

Success Stories

Details of the 7 awards made under Rounds 1 & 2 are available here.

Scheme Contacts

If you would like to discuss your application please contact research.initiatives@sussex.ac.uk