SRUK/CERU Emerging Talent Award 2021

The Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU) announces the sixth edition of the “SRUK/CERU Emerging Talent Award”. The objective of this award is to recognise and support a young Spanish researcher with an outstanding professional trajectory in the UK, as well as to facilitate the dissemination of the prize-winner’s research to both Spanish and British societies. This Award is targeted to researchers who have demonstrated high potential, strong scientific outputs and mentoring and leadership qualities.

Banco Santander Foundation sponsors this Award under its “Young Talent” programme. The “Young Talent” programme includes fellowships and specific actions, and was created with the purpose of funding the most innovative projects carried out by young scientists.

Candidates for the Award can submit their own application or be nominated by a SRUK/CERU regular, associate or friend member or by an organisation/entity such as Spanish and British Universities and Research Centres, the Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs at the Spanish Embassy in the United Kingdom (OCSA), the Spanish Education Office in the United Kingdom and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT).

Award

It will consist of £14,000 to be invested in any aspect necessary for the development of the prize-winner’s career such as research-related tasks, acquisition of equipment, dissemination of recent results, specialized training for the researcher, family and working life balance support, etc. Activities that are in line with SRUK aims are especially encouraged. The prize-winner will also receive a commemorative sculpture made by the Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias.

Extended deadline for applications: 3^rd May 2021 at 23:59 UK time

REQUIREMENTS FOR CANDIDATES

1. The candidate must demonstrate their research expertise in the fields of Natural Sciences or Engineering.
2. The candidate must be of Spanish nationality and have spent at least 3 years of their research career in the United Kingdom.
3. The candidate must have at least three years of postdoctoral experience and be EITHER under 40 years of age OR have obtained their PhD within the last ten years by the date of the application deadline.
   The following eligible career breaks will be considered for the extension of the eligibility window:
   • Maternity leave (18 months or longer by the documented amount of leave actually taken for each child born before or after the PhD award). 
   • Paternity leave (reduced by the documented amount of leave actually taken for each child born before or after the PhD award).
   • Adoption, serious sickness, or caring responsibilities will be taken into consideration (reduced by the documented amount of leave actually taken before or after the PhD award).
4. The candidate cannot have received the award in previous years.
5. The candidate must be a regular member of SRUK/CERU at the time of application. Non-members of SRUK are welcomed to apply as long as they fulfil all the requirements to become a regular member and they register before submitting this award application. Becoming a member of SRUK is immediate and it only requires filling in a form and paying the corresponding fee. For additional information please see https://join.sruk.org.uk/.
6. SRUK supports gender equity and strongly encourages application from women and underrepresented groups. 

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED

Candidates applying themselves need to proceed online by logging onto the SRUK member’s zone, while those nominating someone else need to download the application form and the nomination form, fill them in and send them together with the required documentation to [email protected]. The required documents are: 

1. Application form (nominations only).
2. Nomination form (nominations only).
3. A report explaining the candidate’s most important achievements in their research career (maximum 2 pages A4, font Arial 11, 2 cm margin)
4. Motivation letter (maximum 2 pages A4, font Arial 11, 2 cm margin) explaining how the candidate will make use of the prize (research, dissemination, training, help for family-working life balance, etc.) and the impact the award will have on the development of the candidate’s research career.
5. Curriculum vitae (maximum 4 pages).
6. Details of a referee (senior researcher in the discipline of the candidate). If needed, SRUK may contact the referee for further information, once the candidate has been shortlisted.
7. Any documentation needed to support paternity, sick or any other leave taken.

All these documents must be uploaded as a single PDF file.

If the candidate is nominated, the nominating SRUK/CERU member, friend or entity/organisation must fill in the “nomination form”, ask the nominee to provide them with the rest of the documents and send everything as a single PDF file to [email protected].

EVALUATION

The applications will be assessed by designated senior researchers and the award decided on by a jury composed of members of the Board of Directors of SRUK/CERU, members of the Banco Santander Foundation and other partner institutions. We intend to inform the recipient of the “Emerging talent SRUK/CERU Award 2021” towards mid June 2021.

The evaluation will take into consideration the following criteria:

1. Importance of the candidate’s research work in their research field (40%).
2. The candidate´s career progression after obtaining their PhD (40%). Most relevant career progression after the PhD must be done in the United Kingdom.
3. Motivation and impact of the award for the candidate’s research career (20%). Motivation according to SRUK/CERU aims will be positively evaluated. 

Note that depending on the number of applications received SRUK might be unable to provide feedback to unsuccessful candidates.

AWARD CEREMONY

It will take place in an emblematic location in the United Kingdom, in the presence of the Director of Banco Santander Foundation and the President of SRUK. The date will be agreed on by the organisation and the prize-winner. The ceremony will include the presentation of the award and a talk given by the winner about their work and professional career. A reception and networking event will be held at the end of the ceremony. The prize-winner’s travel and accommodation expenses will be covered. Please, note that the ceremony might be postponed or cancelled due to the restrictions caused by the current pandemic.

For more information, please contact [email protected].

In case of disagreement between the English and Spanish version of these Terms and Conditions, the English version shall prevail.

GDPR statement

By applying to the SRUK/CERU Emerging Talent Award 2021 you agree with our Terms and Conditions. SRUK will share your data with reviewers and other members of the assessment panel to carry out the assessment process. You can consult our full terms and conditions regarding data sharing on https://sruk.org.uk/legal-advice/