Funding is available to support the travel of researchers from the UK to Canada, or from Canada to the UK.
The purpose of the UK-Canada Exchange Programme Awards is primarily to:
- provide new skills to researchers, including:
- MSc or PhD students
- postdoctoral fellows
- research associates
- technicians
- newly independent investigators
- build new links between UK and Canada-based scientists.
The awards will add value to research taking place in both countries by facilitating closer collaboration.
Exchanges should be relevant to regenerative medicine, defined as the branch of medicine that develops methods to regrow, repair or replace damaged or diseased cells, organs or tissues.
Regenerative medicine includes:
- the generation and use of therapeutic stem cells
- tissue engineering
- the production of artificial organs.
Research applications focused on cancer must be regenerative in nature, or use stem cells for addressing the proposed problem, or both. Interdisciplinary projects with relevance to regenerative medicine are welcomed.
The project that is the focus of the exchange must have been previously peer-reviewed and funded by a granting organisation or agency either:
- in Canada, for example:
- the Canadian Institutes of Health and Research (CIHR)
- National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Stem Cell Network (SCN)
- in the UK, including, but not limited to:
- UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
- Wellcome
- medical research charities.
Each proposal must have the support of one Canadian principal investigator and one UK principal investigator. Their labs can act as host or visitor, or both.
With this opportunity, SCN and MRC will support the travel of up to six Canadian and six UK researchers each year at $15,000 CAD or £9,500 GBP per researcher.
Your proposal can be for either:
- two researchers to travel between one another’s labs (bidirectional)
- one researcher to travel to the other researcher’s lab (unidirectional).
Bidirectional exchanges are encouraged and preferred.
Exchanges are expected to be six to 12 weeks in length and must begin by 15 February 2023.
The host and exchange researcher are responsible for ensuring they obtain permission from the host institution (including all relevant training, for example health and safety) for:
- the exchange researcher to access institutional facilities associated with the host laboratory
- following all institutional rules and guidelines for the duration of the exchange.
Arrangements should be made for facilities access in advance of the exchange, wherever possible.
What we will fund
Funding is available to support the following collaborative activities:
- travel for researchers in either direction, including transportation and meal costs while travelling
- accommodation costs for the duration of the exchange
- visits or access to facilities
- conference attendance, subject to approval by SCN or MRC
- other collaborative activities may be supported on a case-by-case basis.
Funding will be delivered to participating Canadian institutions from SCN and to participating UK institutions from MRC. We will fund direct costs at 100% of the full economic cost of the exchange.
What we will not fund
Exchange awards are not a vehicle for supporting research projects and cannot be used to fund:
- salary costs
- items of equipment
- other research costs, including consumables
- ordinary living costs, for example meals.
Exchange personnel will be responsible for finding and securing their own suitable accommodations for the duration of the exchange. SCN or MRC will support eligible accommodation costs.
