2015 Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme:
Frequent Asked Questions (FAQs)
Final – 20th November 2014
Please note that the deadline for receipt of FAQs is 16:00 (GMT) Thursday 20th
November 2014. FAQs must be submitted no later than this date.
FAQs that have been added to this document since the last version was published
are in pink font.
Similar questions have been grouped below in the following themes:
1. Eligibility;
2. Eligible Funding;
3. Application Form;
4. Applying to the Scheme.
1. ELIGIBILITY
a. Am I eligible to apply to the GOI Postdoctoral Scheme?
If a previous application for the Government of Ireland Postdoctoral
Fellowship was not assessed by the IRC as it was not endorsed in due time
by the HEI, does that count as an ineligible application? If the applicant will
re-apply for the 2015 call, does s/he have to specify what was changed in the
proposal?
Applications that were deemed ineligible (e.g. because they were not endorsed by
the HEI) do not count towards this limit. As the application was never assessed, the
applicant does not need to specify what was changed in the proposal.
I would like to know whether or not, if, for example, you have unsuccessfully
applied twice for a 1-year GOI Fellowship, you can then apply for a 2-year GOI
fellowship?
The one-year and two-year GOI Postdoctoral Fellowships count as one scheme. So,
for example, if you have been unsuccessful twice before for the one-year Fellowship,
then you are not allowed to apply to the two-year GOI Postdoctoral Fellowship.
Regarding the stipulation on number of previous applications, are ELEVATE
and standard postdoc applications considered to be the same? (i.e. If a
potential applicant this year applied last year to Elevate and applied for a one
year fellowship the previous year, is he ineligible this year?)
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While the one-year and two-year GOI Postdoctoral Fellowships count as one
scheme, ELEVATE consisted of a separate, EU COFUND scheme. Thus, if a
potential applicant has previously applied to the GOI Postdoctoral Fellowship
scheme on only one occasion, s/he is welcome to apply again to this scheme
(regardless of having submitted one or more previous applications to ELEVATE).
Is an IRCSET EMPOWER Fellow eligible to apply for the Government of Ireland
Postdoctoral Fellowship?
Following the merger of IRCHSS and IRCSET, the Government of Ireland
Postdoctoral Fellowship subsumes the previous IRCSET EMPOWER Fellowship
and IRCHSS Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship.
To be eligible for an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postdoctoral
Fellowship, the applicant must not hold, or have previously held, either of the
aforementioned awards. If an applicant currently holds an IRCSET EMPOWER
Fellowship they will not be eligible to apply for a Government of Ireland Postdoctoral
Fellowship.
b. Do I meet the cut-off point for application to the Scheme?
The guidelines state that to be eligible your viva etc must be completed
between Feb 2010 and Feb 2015. My viva was completed 21.10.2008 and I
graduated 30.06.2009. However, I have had 2 periods of maternity leave (March
2010-Dec 2010, March 2013 to Dec 2013).
My questions are:
1) Am I eligible to apply?
2) If so, do I require documentation to verify my maternity leave? And if so
should this documentation be uploaded on the online system as part of the
application?
The Irish Research Council will allow up to a maximum of 42 weeks (paid 26 weeks
and unpaid 16 weeks) per child. In terms of documentary evidence, copies of birth
certs and evidence of employment during the unpaid 16-week period will be required
should an offer of funding be made. Taking into consideration a graduation date of
30.06.2009 and 2 periods of maternity leave, the applicant in question is eligible to
apply.
I completed my PhD and graduated in the summer graduation of 2010. I am
confused if I am still eligible to apply for this grant? In the IRC online
information they talk about the viva date, which I can’t remember but think
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may have occurred in January or February 2010. If this is the date I am
ineligible to apply. If it’s a graduation date (June-November 2010) I’m
eligible. Can you please confirm?
As per the Guide for Applicants, the eligibility requirement is that an applicant must
have either graduated or have been certified as having fulfilled all the requirements
for the award of a doctoral degree, including a viva/thesis defence, within the fiveyear period between 28th February 2010 and 28th February 2015. In this instance,
and on the basis that the graduation date falls between June – November 2010,
the Applicant is eligible to apply.
An applicant who was awarded her PhD at the viva will graduate before 28
February 2015 but does not yet know the exact date. Under ‘Doctoral Degree
– if applicable’, does she tick the ‘Doctorate Awarded’ box or ‘Specify your
PhD graduation date’.
Only Applicants who have already graduated at the time of submission should select
‘Yes’ in the ‘Doctorate Awarded’ box. The Applicant in this situation should tick ‘No’
in the ‘Doctorate Awarded’ box. The Applicant should then indicate ‘Yes’ in the next
box to confirm that s/he fulfils the requirements of thesis submission and viva/thesis
defence as defined in that section. Should the application in question be
recommended for funding, the Applicant will be asked to provide evidence that the
viva/thesis defence took place no later than 28th February 2015.
We have an applicant for the 2015 Postdoc which will be submitting their
thesis on the 12th of December and already has a viva date in mid-Feb. Can
you confirm if he’s eligible to apply to this call?
We just want to clarify as the online form states:
If you have not yet already graduated, in order to apply YOU MUST

and
have formally submitted your thesis for examination

and
have examiners appointed to your viva/thesis defence examination

have a viva/thesis defence scheduled for a date that is NO LATER THAN
28th February 2015.
The Council confirms that an Applicant, who has not yet graduated, must fulfil the
above criteria at the time of application submission. We note that this person is due
to submit their thesis on the 12th December 2014 and, therefore, will be unable to
confirm by the 27th November 2014 (the Applicant Deadline) that they have formally
submitted their thesis for examination. In order to be eligible to apply, the thesis must
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be submitted, examiners must be appointed, and the viva/thesis defence
examination must be scheduled before the application form is submitted.
I had my viva on the 17th of June 2014. The hard bound copies of my thesis
were submitted last month and everything is passed and finished. I am due to
graduate in January 2015. As it stands I believe I would be eligible to apply
under criterion 4.2.1 as I will be awarded my doctoral degree before 28th
February 2015. If I were to defer my graduation until October 2015 would I still
be eligible to apply but under criterion 4.2.2 as I would have satisfied all the
requirements for the award of a doctoral degree, but not yet graduated, in the
five-year period before the 28th February 2015.
Whether or not this person decides to defer his/her graduation, s/he is eligible to
apply, as s/he will have been certified as having fulfilled within the five-year period
before the 28th February 2015 all the requirements for the award of a doctoral
degree, including a viva/thesis defence.
I have just submitted my PhD thesis, and I anticipate that my viva voce
examination will take place in April 2015. Am I eligible to apply?
As stated in the Terms and Conditions (4.2.2), applicants who have not yet been
awarded their doctoral degree “must have been certified as having fulfilled within the
five-year period before the 28th February 2015 all the requirements for the award of
a doctoral degree, including a viva/thesis defence where such is required, but have
not yet graduated. For the purposes of this condition, the original viva/thesis defence
date and not the graduation date will be taken into account”. This person is not
eligible to apply, as his/her viva date will be after 28th February 2015.
I have passed my Viva but I will not have submitted my corrections before the
28th February 2015. Am I eligible to apply for the GOI PD scheme?
As stated in the Terms and Conditions (4.2.2), applicants who have not yet been
awarded their doctoral degree “must have been certified as having fulfilled within the
five-year period before the 28th February 2015 all the requirements for the award of
a doctoral degree, including a viva/thesis defence where such is required, but have
not yet graduated. For the purposes of this condition, the original viva/thesis defence
date and not the graduation date will be taken into account”.
Thus, the viva/thesis defence must be held before the 28th February 2015. The
applicant’s awarding HEI must be willing to certify that he/she has fulfilled all the
requirements for the award of a doctoral degree.
If an applicant has passed the viva with minor corrections before 28th February
2015, do they also have to submit these corrections before the deadline in
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order to be eligible or will it suffice to submit these before the fellowship
begins?
As stated above, the viva/thesis defence must be held before the 28th February
2015, and the applicant’s awarding HEI must be willing to certify that he/she has
fulfilled all the requirements for the award of a doctoral degree. Ultimately, it is for
the HEI to decide whether an applicant whose thesis has been passed subject to
minor corrections has fulfilled all the requirements for the award of a doctoral degree
satisfactorily.
Will calculations regarding eligibility of candidates in terms of Postdoctoral
experience be based on months or days: e.g. is a researcher with exactly five
years’ (i.e. 60 months’) experience eligible to apply for an IRC Government of
Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship?
Please note that calculations should be exact, and precise information must be
supplied within the application. Where an applicant’s doctoral degree has already
been awarded, the applicant will be required to supply an exact graduation date.
NOTE: In order to be eligible, the PhD graduation date must be after the 28th
February 2010 and no later than 28th February 2015.
Could you please clarify the eligibility here? Candidate received PhD in May
2009 and didn't work in research until April 2013, so it is only for the last 1.5
years he is working as a postdoctoral researchers. The career breaks you
mention do not include unconventional career path, such as working in
industry. Would this candidate be eligible to apply for GOI postdoc
fellowship?
As stated in the Terms and Conditions, Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellows
must not have been employed as a Postdoctoral Researcher for more than 5 years
at the closing date of the call.
Extension to this five-year period can be considered on provision of documented
evidence of an eligible career break; career breaks of up to 5 years are taken into
account. Eligible career breaks include: maternity leave, paternity leave, adoptive
leave, parental leave, prolonged sick leave, carer’s leave. Working in industry is not
an eligible career break for this scheme.
2. ELIGIBLE FUNDING
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Can you apply for a GoI Postdoctoral Fellowship under the current call and
then apply for an Enterprise Partnership Postdoctoral Fellowship when it is
launched in March 2015?
Applicants are not permitted to apply to schemes that are concurrently open.
Applicants should monitor the Irish Research Council website for relevant key dates
to check whether they can apply.
We have a researcher interested in applying for the GOI Postdoc but they’ve
just been awarded a Cochrane Fellowship by the HRB which will run from Dec
1st 2014-Dec 1st 2016 and cover their salary for 2 days a week. Can they still
apply for the GOI postdoc while in receipt of the HRB award? If successful,
can they hold both awards at the same time?
As stated in the Terms and Conditions, Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellows
must engage in full-time research during the Funding Term, and their first priority is
the successful completion of the research project for which s/he has been awarded
funding. Awards cannot be held on a part-time basis.
In exceptional circumstances, a Fellow may engage in other work as an alternative
to tutorial or demonstration work provided the work is not excessive (does not
exceed a total 50 hours per academic term) and does not prevent researchers from
carrying out their research activities. The work must also be relevant to the research
funded by the Fellowship and consistent with the Training and Career Development
Plan agreed by the Fellow and Academic Mentor.
In relation to Fellows being in receipt of additional funding, please note that the
Fellowship is not intended to substitute for or to augment funds available under
programmatic research actions. It may be held in conjunction with other externally
funded travel bursaries, equipment grants or awards, provided the Fellow meets the
conditions as outlined in Clauses 6.24.1, 6.24.2, 6.24.3, 6.24.4 and 6.25 in the
Terms and Conditions.
Based on the information provided above, this Fellow could not hold both awards at
the same time.
I would be grateful if you could please clarify the following T&C:
4.3 Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellows:
4.3.3 must not be a permanent member of staff in an either an Irish HEI/RPO
or an International HEI.'
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Does this condition apply on acceptance of an award i.e. can a permanent
member of staff apply for a fellowship award &, if successful, resign their
position to accept the award and pursue the fellowship?
As per the eligibility flowchart in the Guide for Applicants 2015, an Applicant is not
eligible to apply for a Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship if s/he is a
permanent member of staff in an either an Irish HEI/RPO or an International HEI.
Is the application at a disadvantage if the proposed research includes a
number of trips of more than four weeks away from the Host Institution?
It is up to the Applicant to justify the proposed time away in the context of the overall
project and to demonstrate how the proposed time away is relevant to the proposed
work and how it assists the successful completion of the project.
3. APPLICATION FORM
Q: Are applicants to the one-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship scheme expected
to apply through the institution from which they were awarded their PhD? If
so, will arguments that scientific impact of the work could be increased
through new collaborations be accepted as rationale for moving to a new
institution? Also, how should the original PhD supervisor be included in the
proposal/project structure (in this particular instance it is envisaged that they
will be engaged with the project and included as author on scientific outputs,
where appropriate)?
The Irish Research Council strongly advocates a variety of experience within the
postdoctoral phase of career development. To encourage this, applicants with no
postdoctoral experience will normally be supported only at a different Host
Organisation and with a different Academic Mentor and research team than those
with which they completed their Doctoral preparation.
Applicants applying for a one-year GOI Postdoctoral Fellowship are exempt from
this. Applicants applying for the one-year GOI Postdoctoral Fellowship can either
nominate the host organisation where they have already been based or a new host
organisation. The applicant has the opportunity to provide the rationale for this
choice in the text box provided, but it is not mandatory. It is for the Applicant to
decide if and how s/he integrates the original PhD supervisor into the proposal.
Q: I would like to apply for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the same
institution as the one which awarded me a PhD, but in a different department.
I am currently employed as a postdoctoral fellow in the United States. Am I
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eligible for the scheme, even though I would be returning to the institution
where I obtained my PhD? Do I need to fill in the research mobility paragraph?
The Irish Research Council strongly advocates a variety of experience within the
postdoctoral phase of career development. To encourage this, applicants with no
postdoctoral experience will normally be supported only at a different Host
Organisation and with a different Academic Mentor and research team than those
with which they completed their Doctoral preparation (applicants applying for oneyear GOI Postdoctoral Fellowship are exempt from this requirement).
Some circumstances can be foreseen that would allow a researcher to remain in the
same host institution or with the same research team but these will require complete
justification.
As this applicant has undertaken postdoctoral research overseas, s/he should make
this mobility experience clear in his/her application. Please note that the ‘Research
Mobility’ field is mandatory: i.e. it cannot be left blank.
I applied last year for the 12 month dissemination fellowship and considering
reapplying this year. However, feedback received criticized lack of new
research project. This was the main criticism and dissemination plans were
described as excellent. Would it be better not to fill in sections such as
methodology, research aims etc. if applying for the dissemination fellowship
to avoid any confusion and to make clear that this is not intended to be a new
research project?
The one-year Fellowship is intended to enable the applicant to prepare a doctoral
dissertation for publication through a variety of high quality published outputs: e.g.
monographs, peer-reviewed articles, edited volumes, etc. It is the applicant’s
responsibility to convey the merits of his/her proposed project and its schedule (e.g.
including any supplementary research that such dissemination plans might require)
in light of this. Please note that, aside from issuing feedback after a funding call has
closed, the Irish Research Council does not offer advice to applicants with regard to
the content of their applications. Please note that some sections (e.g. methodology)
include mandatory fields and cannot be left blank.
If an applicant wants to apply in Irish, do they have to complete an application
in Irish and in English (i.e. doubling the work involved)?
Applicants are welcome to apply in Irish. In so doing, they may wish to upload an
English-language translation of the application (in PDF format). Please note that
there is no obligation on applicants who apply in Irish to supply an English-language
translation. When an English-language translation is not supplied by the applicant,
the Irish Research Council acquires a professional translation of the entire
application. Of course, applicants may prefer to supply their own translation due to
the complete level of control that this will give them over the translated application
that the International Assessment Board will ultimately view.
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The application form asks whether the applicant has currently or previously
held an Irish Research Council Award. I have never held an IRC award as such
but I did hold an IRCHSS postgraduate scholarship. Should I select 'yes' or
'no' in answer to this question?
The applicant should answer ‘yes’ to this question. Please note that, following the
merger of IRCHSS and IRCSET, the Government of Ireland Postgraduate
Scholarship subsumes the previous IRCSET EMBARK Scholarship and IRCHSS
Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship.
In Section 5 of the applicant form information is requested about
undergraduate qualifications (Bachelors Degree or equivalent - 5.1), Masters
Degree Details (5.2), and Doctorate Degree Details (5.3). I entered the doctoral
program that led to my Ph.D. on the basis of Recognition of Prior Learning. I
have no undergraduate qualification or Masters Degree. How should I
complete section 5.1?
The online application form includes sections relating to the applicant’s
‘Undergraduate Qualifications’ and ‘Postgraduate Qualifications’. Please note that
the ‘Undergraduate Qualifications’ section includes required fields: i.e. the applicant
must complete this section. Thus, we suggest that the applicant should include
details of his/her prior learning in the ‘Undergraduate Qualifications’ section, and
that he/she should use the ‘Additional Information’ box to include explanatory
information. The Master’s Degree section is not mandatory: i.e. it can be left blank.
There are also ‘Other Education’ and ‘Research Achievements’ sections in the
online application form, where the applicant may include ‘additional information
relevant to your academic background’ (e.g. training courses) that may add weight
to his/her application.
The application form asks for the date of birth. I am a mature student. What is
the purpose of this information? Will my age make me less likely to receive
the fellowship?
The date of birth is requested as an identifier in the case of applicants with the same
name.
Personal details in relation to the applicant such as name, age, sex and nationality
are not visible to the international assessors.
I have an applicant who is Israeli. Under IRC does this count as EU or non-EU
(often Israel has a special status).
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As stated below, the ‘Area where you are ordinarily resident (EU/Non-EU)’ field
seeks to determine the applicant’s EU residency status based on the country within
which s/he has been ordinarily resident for the five-year period prior to the
application deadline, i.e. since 27th November 2009.
‘Ordinarily resident’ shall be deemed to refer to the applicant’s place of legal and
permanent residence. If an applicant has been ordinarily resident within a Member
State of the EU/Ireland for a continuous period of three out of the five years prior to
the application deadline, then s/he should select ‘EU’. (Click on following link for list
of member states http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/index_en.htm). The
‘ordinarily resident’ period for EU citizens will not be deemed as having been
interrupted if an absence from that residence has been caused by: training or
employment of the applicant or the applicant’s spouse or parents; the full-time
education of the applicant or her/his spouse; an absence or absences for cultural or
personal reasons.
On the basis of the information provided, it is not possible to determine whether this
applicant is ordinarily an EU or non-EU resident: the applicant’s place of legal and
permanent residence for the five-year period prior to the application deadline has
not been supplied.
Does a non-EU citizen residing legally in EU since 2007, with a 12-months
period of absence in 2012-13 during which the applicant resided outside of EU
(full-time education of the applicant), meet the requirement to have been
resident in an EU country “for the last number of years” and hence can declare
him/herself as ordinarily resident in the EU? The reason for the applicant’s
absence was employment not full-time education.
The ‘Area where you are ordinarily resident (EU/Non-EU)’ field seeks to determine
the applicant’s EU status based on the country within which s/he has been ordinarily
resident for the five-year period prior to the application deadline, i.e. since 27th
November 2009.
‘Ordinarily resident’ shall be deemed to refer to the applicant’s place of legal and
permanent residence. If an applicant has been ordinarily resident within a Member
State of the EU/Ireland for a continuous period of three out of the five years prior to
the application deadline then s/he should select ‘EU’. The ‘ordinarily resident’ period
for EU citizens will not be deemed as having been interrupted if an absence from
that residence has been caused by: training or employment of the applicant or the
applicant’s spouse or parents; the full-time education of the applicant or her/his
spouse; an absence or absences for cultural or personal reasons.
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All other applicants should indicate that they are non-EU.
In this instance and based on the information above, the applicant should indicate
that his/her area of ordinary residence is EU.
4. APPLYING TO THE SCHEME
a. How do I apply to this scheme?
I wish to apply for Post doc. Please find resume is attached with this email.
An application to the Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme will be
deemed ineligible and will not be considered for funding if it has not been submitted
via the online application system. No hardcopies or emailed forms will be accepted.
I wish to apply for a 2015 GOI Postdoctoral Fellowship. However, I had surgery
and I am off work for the coming weeks, meaning that it is unlikely that I can
meet the application deadline. I have medical certification for this period and
am receiving illness benefit. Is there any possibility of an extension to the
application deadline?
We regret to inform you that the Council cannot accommodate any individual
applicants by extending the Applicant Deadline.
What was the success rate for each of the postdoctoral funding schemes in
the 2014 call? Is it possible to get the success rate according to whether the
applicant was applying to be based within their existing HEI (at the time of
application) as host or if they were applying to be based within a new HEI?
The overall success rate for the Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship
2014 scheme was 17.3%. Further statistics will be available on the Irish Research
Council website at a later date.
b. What publications and supporting documentation should be
included?
I have no peer-reviewed publications, but I have other publications/research
outputs. According to the directions on the indicative form, if I have other
publications/research outputs I do not need to upload samples of written
work, which calls for the thesis table of contents and a chapter to be uploaded.
As I am applying for the fellowship in order to publish my thesis, I feel it would
be relevant to include a thesis chapter. If I complete the Section on other
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publications/research outputs, will I still be able to upload samples of written
work? Or by filling out the other publications/research outputs am I
automatically precluded from uploading the samples of written work?
The section on other publications/research outputs provides applicants with an
opportunity to confirm other publications and research outputs (e.g. publications to
date, research awards achieved, creation of data sets & databases, conference
papers, patents, excavations, public broadcasts, stage performances, creative
writing (such as novels, poetry), creative productions, exhibitions, etc.) . Completing
the section on other publications/research outputs does not preclude applicants from
uploading samples of written work.
An applicant’s Doctoral Thesis is not written in English (or Irish). For
‘Samples of Written Work’, can it be submitted in the original language?
Documentation uploaded to Smart Simple should be written in either English or Irish.
Applicants may upload an English translation of documentation.
For ‘Publications and Other Research Outputs’, how many peer-reviewed
articles are sufficient? If an applicant only has two, should she also submit
samples of her written work?
As per the Terms and Conditions 2015, an applicant must have authored or coauthored at least one published peer-reviewed research publication; or demonstrable
equivalent intellectual property output; or provided samples of their written research
work. There is no requirement to submit samples of written work if an applicant has at
least one peer-reviewed research publication or demonstrable equivalent intellectual
property output. The decision to do so is at the applicant’s discretion.
An applicant has a contract for the publication of a monograph, obtained on
the basis of a successfully peer-reviewed proposal. However the
manuscript is not due with my publishers until the end of December. Should
the applicant include details of this monograph in section 9.1?
The applicant’s top 5 peer-reviewed publications (where applicable) should be
included in the ‘peer-reviewed publications’ section. Peer-reviewed publications that
have been published or accepted for publication are acceptable. As this applicant’s
monograph has been awarded a publication contract, s/he is welcome to include it
in the ‘peer-reviewed publications’ section and to indicate the expected publication
details and date. The applicant may insert further details (e.g. regarding the
publication contract and time-line) in the ‘please explain why this publication is
significant’ field.
In the ‘Peer-reviewed publications’ section, why is there no field for ‘Author
name(s)’? What is the point of indicating ‘Author Role’?
In the spirit of fairness, consistency and transparency, the Irish Research Council
endeavours to ensure that personal details in relation to the applicant (such as
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name, age, sex and nationality) are not visible to the international assessment panel.
For this reason, applicants are asked to indicate the role that they had in relation to
the publication instead of listing the name(s) of the author(s) involved.
For peer-reviewed publications, can monographs be listed provided that they
are published in peer-reviewed collections?
As stated above, your top 5 peer-reviewed publications (where applicable) should
be included in the ‘peer-reviewed publications’ section. Peer-reviewed publications
that have been published or accepted for publication are acceptable. If the applicant
has published an essay or a book-chapter in a peer-reviewed collection, this may
be included.
Can an applicant use the bibliography from her PhD or does it need to be
modified and include a prospective bibliography?
In the ‘Proposed Research’ section of the application, there is a specific field for
‘References and Select Bibliography’. The bibliography should contain key
references of direct relevance to the proposed research only. We do not recommend
inclusion of a full PhD bibliography, as it is likely to be of excessive length.
c. How do I choose a Mentor and Host Institution?
Can you put me in connection with an Irish Academic Mentor for details, or do
I need to find him?
I am a PhD student outside of Ireland. I am planning to do a postdoc research
project in Ireland. May I get help in having a host university or research
institute?
It is the applicant’s responsibility to locate a Host Organisation and an Academic
Mentor. The Irish Research Council does not offer advice in this regard.
Can an Academic Mentor support more than one postdoctoral application?
Can you please confirm that I can support more than one application to this
scheme (as Mentor)? I have three very good candidates and I am going to
prepare three proposals.
Yes. As per the Terms and Conditions (6.2), “An Academic Mentor at an Irish
HEI/RPO is permitted to support more than one Fellow under each type of
Postdoctoral Fellowship available in the 2015 call”.
Can the applicant’s Academic Mentor also act as one of his/her referees?
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No. Two references are required and the applicant’s Academic Mentor may not act
as one of these referees.
d. Can I have two Academic Mentors?
One of our researchers currently works fulltime on a postdoctoral research
project, and is funded by each of the PIs in two different institutions. This
unique combination allows the researcher to cross the boundaries of multiple
disciplines. This researcher would like to develop an IRC Post-Doctoral
funding proposal. The FAQ does not explicitly state that two mentors can be
from two institutions: is this type of co-mentorship possible? The implication
that the budget should reside and be managed within only one of the
institutions would not pose a problem.
The two institutions our candidate currently works for are located in different
parts of the Republic of Ireland: Dublin and Galway. It would be pragmatic for
the candidate to be based in Dublin. We recognize that the choice of a suitable
mentor and host institution is vital in evaluating a proposal – in this particular
case, this would have been in Galway. Would it pose any issue to host the
candidate in Dublin, but with the Galway institution visible as a co-mentor with
deep expert knowledge in the discipline?
As stated below, only one Academic Mentor (and associated Irish Research Body,
through which the Academic Mentor is employed and through which the award will
be administrated) can be formally nominated. In the event that more than one
Academic Mentor is involved, only one Academic Mentor will be provided with login
details to access the system and to complete the Academic Mentor in Ireland Form.
Both Academic Mentors will be asked to confirm their willingness to co-mentor the
applicant after the offer of an award has been made. It is possible for the two
Academic Mentors to be located in different Irish Research Bodies.
The applicant’s choice of the principal Academic Mentor and Irish Research Body
forms a key element in the preparation of his/her application. As stated in the Terms
and Conditions, Fellows must maintain an actual presence within their respective
departments/schools in their Irish Research Body during their Fellowship and reside
within a reasonable travelling distance of the nominated Irish Research Body.
The Applicant must choose which of the two institutions s/he wishes to formally
nominate.
Can a postdoc applicant have more than one Academic Mentor?
For Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowships (one-year and two-year), only
one Academic Mentor can be formally nominated. In the event that more than one
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Academic Mentor is involved, only one Academic Mentor will be provided with login
details to access the system and to complete the Academic Mentor in Ireland Form.
Both Academic Mentors will be asked to confirm their willingness to co-mentor the
applicant after the offer of an award has been made.
I note that you may have only one Academic Mentor for the purposes of the
online application. Can you have a co-mentor who is mentioned in the
application? And Can this co-mentor act as one of the referees?
Yes, a co-mentor may be mentioned in the application. While technically a coMentor can act as a referee, it could be more valuable to be able to provide two
independent referees.
Our candidate has a very clear idea on the type of career he wants to pursue;
teaching is a passion. He has been teaching two courses for two years and
has been invited to teach a course overseas. Though the teaching activities
would not be held within one of the host institutions, would IRC allow the
candidate to teach the course, provided the mentors agree? The courses are
related to the project and would have no cost implication for the IRC.
As stated in the Terms and Conditions, teaching is an essential means for the
structuring and dissemination of knowledge and should therefore be considered a
valuable activity within the Fellow’s career. The Council therefore allows Fellows to
agree to take on additional work (e.g. teaching duties, supervision, education
provision and support activities) during the Fellowship, provided the Fellow provides
the Council with a written statement of support from their Academic Mentor and
obtains prior written permission from the Council; the work is not excessive (does
not exceed a total of 50 hours per academic term); does not prevent researchers
from carrying out their research activities; and the work is relevant to the research
funded by the Fellowship and is consistent with the Training and Career
Development Plan agreed by the Fellow and Academic Mentor.
Furthermore, the Council recognises that the Fellows may benefit from spending
part of the duration of the Fellowship away from their Host Organisation. Where such
research-related absences occur and last more than four weeks’ duration, the
Fellow must apply to the Council for prior permission and include the written support
of her/his Academic Mentor.
Should the applicant ultimately be offered an award, the above factors would be
taken into consideration when deciding this teaching request.
When will the Postdoctoral Fellowships begin?
Can the postdoctoral fellowship start sooner that 1st Oct 2015, considering
the outcomes are announced in April?
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All Postdoctoral Fellowships must commence on 1st October 2015.
e. General online-application queries.
I am a practice-based Fine Art (Media) PhD candidate at the National College
of Art and Design in Dublin, waiting for a viva. In regard to clause 6 in the
Eligibility Flowchart: would an art exhibition (an outcome of independent
curatorial practice) or another curatorial outcome be considered a
'demonstrable equivalent intellectual property output' to a published peerreviewed research publication?
In regard to clause 7 in the Eligibility Flowchart: could the further sample of
written research work be an unpublished piece of writing?
Independent curatorial practice may be considered a research output with
demonstrable equivalent intellectual property. Applicants must specify their
contribution to the research output (for example, a curated exhibition).
Can you please confirm whether an Academic Mentor needs to be a full
member of staff of a HEI for the full duration of the Postdoctoral Fellowship?
Can the mentorship be transferred part-way?
The HEI/RPO must ensure an Academic Mentor is appointed with responsibility for
supporting and guiding the Fellow for the full duration of the Fellowship. This
Academic Mentor would normally be a Principal Investigator, or other suitably
qualified person, with an employment contract in place for the full duration of the
Postdoctoral Fellowship.
While the Council expects Fellows to complete their research at the Host
Organisation originally proposed, the Council recognises that exceptional
circumstances may call for a change of Mentor. In this case, the Fellow and the
proposed new Mentor must write to the Council stating the case for the change. The
Council will examine the submission on its merits and respond with a decision on
whether funding will continue in the new circumstances.
Question 6.18 on the indicative application form asks if you have previously
submitted all or part of a proposal to an Irish Research Scheme and been
unsuccessful. Q6.19 then asks to describe the modifications made to the
proposal if the proposal has been previously submitted. As an undergraduate
I applied for a IRCSET PhD scholarship but was unsuccessful. Does this count
as being rejected by a previous IRC scheme or does the IRC just mean a
Postdoctoral scheme (because of question 6.19)? To clarify I am applying for
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the 2 year GOI fellowship. The work is completely novel and independent from
my PhD project which was performed in a different institution.
The purpose of these two fields is to identify if an applicant is re-submitting all or
part of a previously submitted proposal, and if so, any modifications made to the
originally submitted proposal. In this instance, the applicant can confirm that the
current proposal is completely novel and independent from the previously submitted
proposal.
The online application form does look for details of the
institution/organisation with which a referee is associated, as well as their
position. What should I input into these windows, where a referee is retired?
The Applicant may input the institution/organisation where the referee worked before
retirement. The applicant can indicate the position that the referee held previously
but should also indicate that the referee is now retired.
We have an applicant in the area of Mathematics and they are having trouble
with inserting symbols, equations and formulas into the online form (when
they copy from LaTeX or Word some symbols disappear and therefore the
equations look incomplete). Is there a way around this problem or do they
need to include the equations/formulas as separate PDF file?
The applicant may find it useful to note that the best solution would be to save such
information (together with any relevant diagrams and a GANTT chart) as one or
more PDF documents and to upload these as supplementary information to the
‘Proposed Research’ section of the online application.
Can I just ask if the ‘position of the academic mentor’ field on the application
form should be open for applicants to insert this detail?
The Mentor can input his/her Position by logging in to the online application system,
clicking ‘Profile’ on the top right hand of the screen, and selecting ‘Edit’. Once this
has been done, the information will be incorporated automatically into the
application.
My word count is saying it is exceeded limits but I know I have 300 words.
Any bullet points pasted from Microsoft Word into the application will count as one
word each. For example, a 300 word paragraph that has five bullet points in it will
result in 305 words when pasted into the online system.
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Are the referees contacted as soon as the applicant adds them to their draft
application or are they contacted after the final deadline?
Referees will receive an initial registration email when they are added to the online
application system for the very first time (i.e. the first time that they are registered by
someone as a referee; this may have occurred under a previous call). This
registration email will include login details with username and password.
 Referees will automatically receive an email when the applicant has added
the Referee to his/her application.
 Should a referee forget his/her password, he/she can easily reset this by
clicking the link on the online application system’s login page.
NOTE: The referees can complete the Referee Form while the application is in
‘Draft’ status. (They do not have to wait until the application has been submitted.)
Once the application has been submitted, the applicant will be able to monitor
whether a Mentor form and references have been uploaded in the online
application system.
When can the Mentor supply his/her reference?
Mentors can create and submit the Academic Mentor in Ireland Form as soon as the
applicant has submitted his/her application.
Where can an applicant see on the system if their referee has completed a
reference for them?
Applicants should check which participant forms have been submitted by clicking on
the ‘Submitted Applications’ icon on the ‘Home’ screen. (This information will only
be visible after the applicant has submitted his/her application: i.e. not while it is still
in draft.)
If necessary, applicants should contact the Mentor and/or Referees to ensure their
forms are submitted before the deadline.
(This information can be found on page 27 of the Guide for Applicants.)
I noted on the application form that “There is an option on the system at this
point to upload any supplementary information (e.g. relevant diagrams) which
will accompany your research proposal. Please upload a GANTT chart to
illustrate the project timelines, milestones and deliverables. The system will
only accept PDF files for upload.”
I would be grateful if you would confirm if a Gantt chart and the training and
development plan are the only items that can be uploaded as pdfs and
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included with applications? I notice that there is a particular text box for
references so they don’t need to be uploaded separately.
Can letters of support be uploaded as pdfs?
The items that can be uploaded by applicants to the ‘Proposed Research’ section of
the application form are:



Essential supplementary information (e.g. relevant diagrams)
A GANTT chart to illustrate the project timelines, milestones and deliverables
Career Training and Development Plan (2 pages max)
Letters of support/references must not be uploaded by applicants. The Mentor and
Referees must log in to the online system in order to supply the necessary
participant forms.
Note: The system will only accept PDF files for upload.
Can an industrial letter of support be submitted for this scheme (not industrial
partnership) under additional material?
It is appreciated that applicants should not upload references/letters of
support as part of their application; however, clarification is requested as to
whether a letter of support from an external organisation supporting the
proposed research project (as against providing a researcher reference) is
allowed to be uploaded as additional material?
The only external supporting documentation that may be uploaded to the application
are the referee forms from the two nominated Referees. Should an applicant wish
to provide a supporting document from an external organisation, the document
would have to be incorporated as one of the two Referee Forms. An Individual from
the external organisation would have to be nominated as a Referee, and s/he would
then have to follow the Referee process similar to any other Referee: i.e. log in to
the online system and submit the Referee Form.
Can an IRC postdoc applicant include costs for visiting guest speakers? (ie
travel/accommodation costs?)
Having seen in the latest edition of the FAQ document that membership fees
are ineligible, I wonder if there are other ineligible costs. I plan to organize a
conference and would like to pay travel and accommodation costs for an
international keynote speaker. Are these research expenses eligible?
I will need to improve my reading knowledge of the local language and
would like to engage a private tutor to avail of one-to-one sessions as these
will be more effective than classes available in my proposed host institution
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or externally. Can you confirm that the cost of these private sessions can be
included under “Generic and/or specialist disciplinary skills training”?
All requests for direct research expenses are assessed on an individual case-bycase basis. The direct research expenses are intended to enable the Fellow to
carry out the proposed Research Project and are subject to sufficient justification
being made in the application.
Are membership fees an eligible research cost?
No, membership fees are an established ineligible research cost.
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