Office of the Vice President Research & International & Postdoctoral Fellows Office, Faculty of Graduate Studies Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowship (hosted at UBC) Below is draft text that you can draw on to develop your Marie Curie IOF applications with UBC. This text can and should be used by you and your UBC host faculty member to adapt and integrate faculty/departmental/lab-specific information regarding the quality of the infrastructure and facilities at UBC, project-specific administration, support provided to you etc. In order for your application to be competitive, it is essential that your UBC faculty host add to and/or tailor this information with specific details regarding access to their research facilities, their international collaborations, & the enriched academic environment/support they can offer you within their lab/dept/faculty etc. The draft text provided below only comprises institutional-level information and is incomplete without your host researcher-level information. Information on Form A2 - Participant 2 (UBC institutional data) can be found on page 5. Proposal Set-Up/Proposal Participants In the contact information requested in the proposal set-up section, the correct person for the European host must be the scientific person in charge (as identified in A2). Please correct this manually if another name (e.g. yours) is automatically inserted into the set-up form. If you are identifying referees, please note that the email inviting the referee to submit an assessment will occur within an hour of you hitting the submit button. B2 TRAINING (MAXIMUM 2 PAGES) Clarity and quality of the research training objectives for the researcher Relevance and quality of additional research training as well as other transferable skills offered Host expertise in training experienced researchers in the field and capacity to provide mentoring/tutoring (outgoing and return host) Note: The majority of the high-lighted section above is more specific to your UBC host researcher & their capacity to provide mentoring.but we have provided some information below that can be used for this section and/or transferred to the international collaboration section below. UBC currently hosts 5 Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowships. These exceptional researchers become well integrated with the more than 800 Postdoctoral Fellows that UBC hosts annually, many of whom are recruited internationally, the 250 international visiting scholars, and the 8,000 graduate students that form the core of our research environment. Postdoctoral Fellows are regarded as elite researchers in UBC s community exceptional candidates who have a record of outstanding research that is compellingly innovative and groundbreaking. They are an integral part of UBC s research enterprise, playing key leadership roles in achieving UBC s goal of increasing the quality and excellence of UBC s research and scholarship. 1
UBC s scholars and administration are fully committed to providing effective postdoctoral mentoring that encompasses both professional and career development, assisting fellows to identify their professional goals and milestones, and to develop plans that maximize their ability to achieve them. The university boasts a Post-Doctoral Fellows Office with support staff and an associate Dean to specifically address the needs of post-doctoral fellows. Professional development courses and workshops are regularly offered through the Post-Doctoral Fellows Office, including programs on leadership, supervising graduate students, peer coaching, grant proposal writing, the transition to an academic career and alternate careers. B4 IMPLEMENTATION (MAXIMUM 6 PAGES) Quality of infrastructure / facilities and international collaboration of host (outgoing and return host) The proposal must explain the level of experience of the outgoing host institution on the research topic proposed, including all international collaborations (outgoing and return host). Information provided should include participation in projects, publications, patents and any other relevant results. The facilities available in both the outgoing and returning host and their adequacy to the research project should be mentioned. Information on the capacity to provide training in complementary skills that can further aid the fellow in the reintegration period should be included. The host needs to specify what are the infrastructures available and whether these can respond to the needs set by the execution of the project. Practical arrangements for the implementation and management of the research project (outgoing and return host) Feasibility and credibility of the project, including work plan Practical and administrative arrangements and support for the hosting of the fellow (outgoing and return host) The host of the outgoing phase should describe what practical arrangements are in place to host a researcher coming from another country. What support will be given to him/her to settle into their new host country (in terms of language teaching, help with local administration, obtaining of permits, accommodation, schools, childcare etc.) Ranked among the world s top research universities, UBC provides a unique training ground for Postdoctoral Fellows. UBC is one of Canada s most internationalized engaged universities and its researchers publish more joint research undertaken with colleagues outside of Canada than any other university in the country. UBC ranks among the top three Canadian universities in attracting research funding from a wide range of sources, including competitive government grants, awards from non-profit foundations, and contracts with industry or government for prescribed research. In 2012/2013 UBC attracted more than $519M in research funding from all sources. Of this, nearly $60M is from foreign sources, primarily from the United States (83%). UBC s high ranking both within Canada and internationally stem from its thriving community of talented research faculty and staff whose ideas, discoveries and innovations seek to advance our community and our society. This community includes over 16,000 faculty and staff members, 8,000 graduate students, and a growing number of undergraduate researchers. Our researchers are based at UBC s Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, as well as in affiliated hospitals and research institutes around the province. From advancing scientific discovery to training international leaders, UBC researchers are at the forefront of efforts that address global problems in health, safety, economic opportunity, human rights 2
and environmental integrity. UBC s training environment fosters opportunities for post-doctoral fellows to lead and participate in global endeavours that require inter- and multi-disciplinary solutions, advocacy, dialogue, and collaborative action. UBC provides state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure to promote exceptional learning and research. Since 1997, UBC research infrastructure projects have received close to $394M in federally funding (CFI) for research infrastructure projects, matched by $340M in provincial funding (BCKDF). UBC is a leader among North American universities in the area of technology transfer. Many of our 150+ spin-off companies are based in British Columbia and have made a significant contribution to the provincial economy, as well as providing numerous societal benefits in the areas of health care and technology. UBC s international engagement is built on a foundation of partnerships with universities and institutions. We maintain more than 300 formal and informal agreements with universities around the world. UBC is also a founding member of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, a member of the Universitas 21 international association, and a member of the Global University Summit which brings together presidents of leading research universities from the G8-G20 countries. International Engagement is a key goal of UBC s Strategic Plan, Place and Promise, and Europe, China and India have been identified as regions of strategic priority in UBC s 2011 International Strategic Plan. UBC has more than 100 agreements and MOUs with European institutions. Europe is UBC s strongest regional centre for student exchange, with over 4000 exchanges in the past 6 years, including both outbound and inbound students to and from the UK and Continental Europe. In additional, approximately 220 students participated in Group Study programs in the UK and Europe as well. UBC s dedicated student mobility office, Go Global, is the largest program of its kind in Canada. Supporting the mobility of faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students is an important element of UBC s plan to engage with our European partners, in order to strengthen institutional links, enable future joint projects, and facilitate networking and knowledge exchange. Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships represent a natural synergy with UBC s ongoing commitment to establish new and advance existing international partnerships, and to enhance research collaborations with scholars in the European Union. UBC Scholars currently collaborate in three FP7 projects including: Evidence-based Medicine Collaboration Network for guideline development, teaching and dissemination with the University of Birmingham, University of Amsterdam and Madrileno Health Service (Spain), Indo-European Network in Mathematics for Health and Disease with 6 other university partners, and Internet-based Structural Health Monitoring System (ISMS) with INRIA (France) and Structural Vibrations Solutions (Denmark). UBC participates in the Transatlantic Exchange Program, is a host site for an Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate Programme (Forestry), and is one of two Canadian universities involved in an Erasmus Mundus North American mobility grant (PhD, PDoc, Staff) with a network of European Universities. Other European linkages include grants from the Commission of the European Communities, the establishment of the Max Planck-UBC Centre for Quantum Materials in 2010, and the recent award of a distinguished Jean Monet Chair on European Integration and Global Political Economy to a UBC scholar. Outside of Europe, UBC hosts trainees and scholars through the Canada- EU Program for Co-Operation in Higher Education, DAAD, Canada-CARICOM Leadership Scholarships, Canadian Commonwealth Scholarships, Emerging Leaders in the America s and Canada-Chile Leadership Scholarships, CIDA, African Initiative, Japan s Society for the Promotion of Fellowships etc. UBC is the host for the MITACS 3
Globalink that brings Indian students to Canada for research and academic placements, and is a preferred destination for the China Scholarship Council. UBC provides several levels of support to assist new post-doctoral fellows to the University. The UBC Postdoctoral Fellows Office was established in 2010 to enhance the development and experience of postdoctoral fellows. In addition to providing a semi-annual PDF Orientation Day, they work closely with the UBC Postdoctoral Association to provide a dedicated communication forum and to organize professional development. The Associate Dean for post-doctoral fellows ensures that needs are heard at highest levels of university administration, while the self-run post-doctoral association ensures an excellent means for new postdoctoral fellows to integrate socially and raise concerns they might have. The host faculty member, Department Head and Dean are responsible for orienting Postdoctoral Fellows to the Department and Faculty. Departmental or faculty administrators prepare written materials about services, procedures and standards in the department and faculty, and also assist with administration functions that assist incoming scholars, e.g. letters of invitation, information about accommodation and local resources, etc. The supervising faculty member is responsible for orientation to the worksite and for providing information about performance expectations, standards for hours of work, safety procedures and ethical/scholarly integrity issues. Postdoctoral Fellows are regarded as advanced research trainees and are treated accordingly in such matters as departmental communications, social interaction and consultation about matters affecting them. UBC s Work-Life and Relocation Centre provides individualized assistance for the transition to UBC and Vancouver. There are several on-campus housing options available to incoming fellows, including two graduate residential colleagues at UBC, St. John s College and Green College, which provide hospitable interdisciplinary and international environments that cultivate unique intellectual and creative connections. UBC also boasts 266 staff/faculty suites and an additional 107 new suites completed in the summer of 2012. These non-market rental suites are located on campus and available to incoming fellows. UBC s on-site child care services operates 24 child care programs, or approximately 550 highquality, licensed spaces for children from 4 months to 12 years of age, plus an independent kindergarten, and employs more than 120 Early Childhood Educators. Priority is given to families associated with the university. A public elementary school and high school are also located on UBC campus property. 4
FORM A2 - Participant No. 2 Section A2/ Participant 2 Participant Identification Code (PIC) 998804636 Legal name The University of British Columbia Organisation Short Name UBC Legal Address 2075 Westbrook Mall Vancouver BC V6T 1Z1 Non-profit organisation Public body Higher or Secondary education establishment NACE code Higher Education (MA 80.30) [Shaded Box not required] Are there dependencies between your organisation and (an) other participant(s) in this proposal? No Contact Points the first section should be your UBC host faculty supervisor. Authorised representative to sign the grant agreement or to commit the organisation for this proposal: Family Name Livingstone First Name(s) Angus Title Mr. Sex M Position Managing Director Department/Faculty University-Industry Liaison Office Is the address different from the legal address? Street Name 6190 Agronomy Road Number 103 Town Vancouver BC Post Code V6T 1Z3 Country Canada Phone 1 604.822.8587 Phone 2 604.822.0752 Fax 604.822.8589 E-mail Angus.livingstone@uilo.ubc.ca 5