If you are interested in taking part in this scheme, please speak to you supervisor in the first instance, and ask them to make contact with me. Wilma Ellis Research Services Officer Planning and Research Office University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA Tel: 01786 466691 Fax: 01786466688 -----Original Message----- From: martin.frost(a)shu.ac.uk [mailto:martin.frost@shu.ac.uk] Sent: 23 November 2004 16:29 To: Wilma Ellis Subject: Researchers in Residence Dear Research Director/Supervisor, Re: Researchers in Residence We would like to take this opportunity to ask you to support the Researchers in Residence scheme funded by the UK's Research Councils and the Wellcome Trust, by encouraging your PhD student(s) and/or post doctoral researchers to take part. The Researchers in Residence scheme is now in its tenth year and involves current PhD students spending the equivalent of 4/5 days in a secondary school science department. Although their time in school is relatively short they can offer and gain a great deal. Their expertise in problem solving together with their current subject knowledge is invaluable to science teachers and their pupils. Their own personal and professional development is not overlooked, with participating PhD students commenting on how their communications skills have improved; not to mention enhancing their CVs and coming away with a sense of satisfaction from having "given something back". Given the Roberts' recommendations that all PhD researchers to engage in two weeks of transferable skills training each year, Researchers in Residence can offer some of this training (1 day of briefing and 4/5 days in a school). With this in mind, we would like to ask you to nominate up to 3 PhD students or post docs who could become Researchers in Residence. If you are concerned about how this will affect their research, please be assured that the Research Councils would not be funding such a scheme if it were detrimental to the cause of research. Also, the time commitment of each student can be spread over a whole academic year, if desired. Please look at our website (http://extra.shu.ac.uk/rinr) for further information and application forms but please don't hesitate to telephone if you have any queries. Also on the website <http://extra.shu.ac.uk/rinr> is a list of the briefing days arranged for January - March 2005. Please ask your researchers to indicate which event they would like to attend, and to send this information back along with their completed application form. They will be sent the final details prior to the event in enough time to make any necessary travel arrangements. We would greatly appreciate replies by Friday 7 January 2005 at the latest. We hope that you will support the Researchers in Residence scheme and recommend it to other researchers you may have, as well as to colleagues. If Researchers in Residence is something that you are already involved with, we would like to thank you for your continuing support. Regards, Marilyn Brodie Researchers in Residence Project Manager