Investing in research careers

The university has been running this internally-funded research scheme since 2013. Awards of up to £10,000 are offered every year to assist researchers to gain experience of managing and leading their own research projects.

The scheme is a university-wide initiative for academic and research staff from all Schools. Rising stars may be at any stage of their academic career, but priority is given to researchers at the start of their career. Awards are made on the basis of merit and are awarded by a university panel of research experts.

A rising stars award may be used as evidence of institutional support for RCUK new investigator grants and is part of a proactive support programme for our new researchers.

The University’s annual scheme is part of the Research and Enterprise Strategic Plan 2017-21. The scheme offers awards of up to £10,000 each to enable staff to take a period of sabbatical away from their substantive role at the University in order to undertake research and/or enterprise activity.

The scheme is open to all staff with a contractual obligation to undertake research and who have at least one year’s continuous service with the University of Brighton at the time of commencing the sabbatical. Awards are made on the basis of merit and are awarded by a university panel of research experts.

Sabbatical projects add value to applicants’ existing contribution to research and/or enterprise within the University, and result in outcomes that contributes to the University’s research and enterprise ambitions.

In 2018-19, our Enterprise Innovation initiatives consist of an Innovation Accelerator Fund, which provides continuity funding to our most promising Seed and Proof of Concept projects from our 2017-18 funding round; and a new Innovation Kick Start Fund to support enterprising projects emerging this academic year.

These awards are funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF), to deliver the government’s Industrial Strategy white paper. The breadth of activity eligible for funding remains wide. For example, the use of funds could include projects with significant commercial potential such as design and build of prototypes, competitor analysis, taking products to market, creating a spin out and development of strategic relationships with key stakeholders and industrial partners.

Both of the funds have been designed to encourage and enable staff to progress enterprising ideas that drive innovative economic and social development and to diversify routes to generating commercial outcomes, which also have the potential to generate impact of value to society.