Synergy pump-priming funds
Synergy Awards Encourage Collaboration
COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED FOR 2007/08
- Information on Synergy Pump-Priming funds competition, 2007/08:
Following the success of the previous competition for Synergy funds over the last seven years, applications have again being taken for funding to assist in the development of proposals for new collaborative research ventures between Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities.
A summary of the proposals [March 2007] is available below.
Synergy funds may be awarded for administrative/teaching help to free up time (usually several weeks) to explore the viability of a proposed collaboration - including away-days - or for drafting collaborative grant applications etc. These examples are not exhaustive; applications for other uses of Synergy funds are welcomed. Where funds are awarded to pay for administrative or teaching help, it is expected that someone will be hired to take on those duties on a short-term basis.
The maximum amount available in the current round of the competition is £2000 per applicant: we would hope again to make approximately five awards. Applicants are encouraged to provide the required information in a simple, concise format.
The closing date for this competition is Friday 16 November 2007.
- Download the Glasgow University pump-priming funds application formor the Strathclyde University pump-priming funds application form
- Information on previous years' competition
- General Information on Synergy
- Synergy Away-days
Examples of bids, March 2007
- Biomedical Life Sciences/Sciences: an away-day to discuss future interactions and collaborations to increase capacity in the training of in vivo, integrative mammalian skills was based on an existing and strong collaboration and had already been generously funded.
- Mathematics/Statistics: twice weekly meetings investigating modeling and simulation in Computational Cell Biology, writing up research results and external grant proposal.
- Mechanical Engineering/Engineering: three away-days/workshops to investigate potential research strategies and approaches to High Volume Raid manufacture of MEMS and NEMS.
- Curriculum Studies/Primary and Childhood Studies: four seminars and a one-day conference on research and development in teacher education and teachers’ work.
- Infection & Immunity/Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences: a pilot project to explore the potential of comparative proteomic analysis to reveal mechanisms of drug resistance in Leishmania.
- Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences/Mechanical Engineering: an away-day to discuss a potential collaboration to develop a critical mass of researchers needed to produce world-class research in intervertebral disc biomechanics.
- History of Art/Urban Design: the creation and evaluation of a reusable web resource designed to support students’ learning of basic principles of architectural history and theory.
- Chemistry/Chemistry: a research-based collaborative project to increase the local knowledge base in molecule-based magnets.
- Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences/Dental School: an investigation of ligands of Toll-like receptors in atherosclerotic tissue.
- Nuclear Physics/Physics & Astronomy: to prepare a grant application to another funding body on nuclear and plasma physics.
- Business & Management/Marketing: the development and preparation of a collaborative research bid examining the foreign entry modes, strategies and export performance of UK service firms.
- Business & Management/Business School: the development and preparation of a collaborative research based on a Africa-centred research study SME internationalization via Centre for Internationalization and Enterprise (CIER).
General Information about Synergy
Synergy supports activities in a range of areas, although currently our primary involvement is with research-based collaborative projects (although not exclusively). Leading on from this, we have a successful Synergy post-graduate scholarship programme. We are also involved with collaborative teaching ventures, for instance the Glasgow Graduate Law School, the joint Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering department and the Glasgow School of Social Work (launch August 2004). In addition, Synergy has limited funds for pump-priming purposes (e.g. this competition), away-days between GU and SU staff, and also to assist in holding seminar events
Synergy away-days
Synergy has funded away-days in a range of subject areas, including Education, Cardio-vascular studies, Pharmacology/drug delivery and more. These events have brought together academics from Glasgow and Strathclyde with interests in related topics. Synergy's away-days aim to promote collaboration between Glasgow and Strathclyde and have been a successful way of disseminating information on current research in particular subject areas, and also revealing areas where collaboration could prove useful