On Wednesday 18 April, we hosted our third annual Springboard award holders’ event.
This event is designed to allow awardees from all Springboard cohorts get to know each other, showcase their research, and develop new skills. New awardees also received guidance on how to manage their grant, and the breadth of opportunities open to them through the Academy.
The agenda included a mentoring skills workshop, to help them make the most of the Academy’s acclaimed mentoring scheme, a session from the Science Media Centre on about how to work with the media, and discussions about how to have an impact with their expertise.
The event was attended by more than 60 early career researchers in either basic biomedical research, or health social sciences and medical humanities, supported through the Health of the Public 2040 stream. There were lots of opportunities to network - with other awardees, Academy fellows, other senior academics and funding representatives - discussing their research challenges, successes and potential future collaborations.
The event was of great success and we are delighted to hear that participants enjoyed the day:
“The Springboard award session made me appreciate that being an award holder is so much more than just receiving a grant. There is access to a whole wealth of opportunities.”
“All day, I found that the many opportunities for networking were fantastic. All sessions were great, but I really enjoyed a lot the ‘Discuss your research Session’”.
“It was friendly, not stressful at all, very nice and there were some excellent discussions.”
The Academy is grateful to the British Heart Foundation, the Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Talent Fund and Global Challenges Research Fund and the Wellcome Trust, who generously support this scheme.
If you’d like to be one of the next Springboard awardees, there is one funding round each year launched in springtime with a Selection Panel meeting usually in November/December.
For more information on eligibility criteria and how to apply, please visit the Springboard scheme page.