Applications open for summer vacation on-campus internships

Careers and Placements invite academic departments and Professional Services to submit expressions of interest for recruiting students through the York Internships summer programme. Applications will be open throughout February and March. Funding through APP and YCEDE may be available. Find out more via the bottom 'drop-down' on the York Internships web page.

It's a great opportunity to get some extra resource for a specific project whilst supporting students to develop their experience and employability.  We have some great success stories from the Department both in hosting internships and in our students benefiting from internship opportunities within the University and with local businesses.

Photo of the Week

A SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE WONDERFUL WOMEN IN DEG! Let's celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) 2024 together - #InspireInclusion

We're putting up a special celebration wall in our building (March 4-8) to spotlight the incredible women within our DEG family. Whether you've been part of our journey for some time or have recently joined us, your voice is invaluable. Academics, research staff, PhD students, and professional services staff, we want to hear from you!
Take a moment to share your unique story, your triumphs, and what it means to you to be a woman in our field. Your contribution will add depth and richness to our collective narrative.

Please edit/complete this PowerPoint template, including a photo for display. This year’s theme is #InspireInclusion. We have included examples from different groups (academics, research staff, PhD students, professional services staff), but feel free to personalise your content as you see fit. For those short on time, a condensed template is also available. Please complete the templates by 5pm on 23rd February to allow us to create a tapestry of experiences that truly reflects the diversity of our community.

Your participation is highly encouraged. Together, let's inspire inclusion and uplift each other in our shared journey.

And don't forget to save the date for a delightful POTLUCK lunch on Friday, March 8th, 2024.  More details will follow soon.

Best wishes,

DEG ED&I teamteam

Other Events

⭐ A paper from Catrina Gore's MSc by Research (2022) is in press in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. The research focuses on the links between blue carbon and sea-level rise in saltmarshes.

⭐ New in Ecological Economics: Chris West has co-authored a paper on the implications of EU and UK deforestation regulations for Brazil. Click here to access a summary and the full paper.

⭐ Josh Kirshner received 'Outstanding Reviewer Award 2023' for the interdisciplinary journal Energy Research & Social Science. Josh is also a co-author on a paper just out in the current issue of Water Alternatives: An interdisciplinary journal of water, politics and development. It stems from a project funded by NERC, AHRC and Colciencias (Colombia) on 'Integrating ecological and cultural histories of the Páramos,' and led by Piran White from 2018-21. The full reference is: Martínez Medina S, Cottyn H, Garrido AM, Kirshner J and O’Bryen R. 2024. Water factories of the high Colombian mountains: Páramo as ‘infrastructural nature.’ Water Alternatives 17(1): 167-186. Click here to view..

⭐ Nic Carslaw and Sarah West are hosting a Webinar on Friday 16th Feb: Beyond Awaab's Law: priorities for indoor air pollution in the UK. Click here to register!

https://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/current-issue

Opportunity for ECRs and ECOPs: The Role of Seabed Mapping in Ocean Science, 11 March, hosted by the Royal Society and UKHO

As part of our Ocean Science Policy programme, the Royal Society is co-hosting an event with the UK Centre for Seabed Mapping on The Role of Seabed Mapping in Ocean Science on Monday 11 March 2024, 12:00 to 19:00, at the Royal Society in London. We hope this event may be of interest to your department/network and are inviting applications to attend. 

This event will offer 30 Early Career Researchers and Early Career Ocean Professionals the opportunity to meet and share their research with other ocean and marine scientists and academics, UK CSM members, and policy makers from across UK Government in order to address key policy challenges related to the ocean, and to contribute to the work and mission of the UN Ocean Decade. Of the 30 successful applicants, ten will be invited to present their research with a 2-5 minute ‘elevator pitch’ style presentation and a poster.  We would be grateful if you could circulate this invitation to the ECRs and ECOPs in your department/network.  

 Application instructions 

In order to attend, please follow this link to submit your application by 15:00 on Wednesday 7 February. Early applications are very welcome.  We particularly encourage applications from ECOPs and ECRs whose research is in one or several of these key areas: seabed mapping, or the use of bathymetry, tides, oceanography, marine habitat mapping, and use or activity within the marine space. Applications from underrepresented groups are encouraged. 

Please note: Lunch and refreshments will be provided, but regrettably we are unable to cover travel or accommodation costs: successful applicants must cover their expenses to and from the event.  

We look forward to receiving your application. For further information or any questions, please contact Beatrice Widell at resilientfutures@royalsociety.org.    

INGENIOUS Webinar: Beyond Awaabs Law: Priorities for Indoor Air Quality Actions in the UK Housing Sector - Fri 16 Feb

Date: Friday 16 February 2024

Time: 12 pm – 1 pm

Location: Online

Do you know what harmful airborne pollutants are found in your home? The INGENIOUS project has organised a webinar to explore indoor air pollution in the UK housing sector. Join us as we delve into indoor air quality, going beyond the social housing sector and the ongoing consultation of Awaab’s law to look at indoor air pollutants in privately rented and owner-occupied homes. Find out more Beyond Awaabs Law and register here.

Doctoral Focal Awards in the Environmental Sciences 2024

NERC have released their 2024 call for Doctoral Focal Awards in the environmental sciences with a deadline of 9th April for outline submissions.

This is funding to deliver a doctoral focal award (formerly CDT) to address priority or emerging training needs within the environmental sciences. Applications must be centred within NERC's remit but interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary doctoral focal awards are welcome. Applications must identify the challenge of focus for the doctoral focal award and justify the specific need for doctoral training in this area. NERC funding is available to support four doctoral focal awards each in receipt of 24 notional studentships across three annual intakes.

York can only lead on one application to this opportunity, which will be selected through on the following timeline:

2nd Feb - Process released 21st February 12:00 - deadline for google form and proforma - please use this google form to submit a completed copy of this proforma.

23rd February 9:00 - 12:00 - pitch session to panel - 10 minute pitch followed by 15 minute Q&A

The decision to proceed will be communicated following the pitch session.

9th April - funder deadline.

It would be helpful if you are considering submitting an application if you let me know ahead of submitting the proforma to aid in planning. Supporting information: We have compiled some feedback from last year's NERC CDT 2023 opportunity that may be of use as you develop your ideas. Do not circulate this beyond York. the CDTs funded in the 2024 round have just been announced, and previous CDTs can be found here. Slides from the 30th Jan York event on the opportunity.

Medical Research Foundation's Emerging Leaders Prize on the Impact of Climate Change on Health - open for applications

The Medical Research Foundation's Emerging Leaders Prize on the Impact of Climate Change on Health in the UK is now open for applications with an April 16th deadline.

The award amount up to £100,000 and all research areas related to the impact of climate change on health in the UK will be considered Applicants must be in the process of transitioning (or have recently transitioned) to an independent research position. They should demonstrate an upward trajectory across their past career and a track-record of nationally-competitive research, an ability to manage an independent research group, and have clear plans to develop into an internationally-recognised leader in the field.

Please get in touch with your research support team and the CFP team (helen.bradley@york.ac.uk for projects based in the Faculty of Social Science and sharon.godwin@york.ac.uk and audrey.bounaix@york.ac.uk, for projects in Sciences) if you are interested in applying.

NERC Pushing the Frontiers July 2024 Demand Management

The NERC 'Pushing the frontiers of environmental research July 2024' call scheme runs twice a year on a Jan/July timetable and is subject to demand management. The scheme supports discovery science across the NERC remit with a maximum project cost is £1m, of which UKRI will pay 80%. For full explanation of the criteria applicants should refer to the NERC handbook and the July 2024 Announcement of Opportunity when it is released (usually late February/early March), although applicants may also wish to refer to the January 2024 call prior to the July release to aid in shaping their ideas. This opportunity is now run through The Funding Service.

For internal demand management prospective applicants are required to complete the 2-page proforma by 16:00 Tuesday 16th April and pitch their idea at a virtual pitching session on Tuesday 23rd April 9:00-12:00.

The pitch should be concise (<5 min) and in 3 slides answer: i) why this question? ii) why now? and, iii) why us? It will be followed by questions from the panel. Applicants should contact robyn.inglis@york.ac.uk to arrange their slot. Based on both the 2-page pro forma and the pitching session, projects surpassing the quality threshold will be progressed to external submission and a firm commitment regarding capacity to submit the application in January 2024 will be required from the applicants.

If there are any queries please do not hesitate to get in touch with Robyn (robyn.inglis@york.ac.uk).

International Charitable Funding Opportunities for Environmental Sciences

The office of philanthropy is keen to support applications to a series of funding opprunities detailed below. If you are interested in applying, please contact Audrey Bounaix (audrey.bounaix@york.ac.uk)

Minor Foundation for Major Challenges (Norway)

Scope: Citizens engagement, policy makers and businesses to accelerate the transformation to a low carbon society

Gift value: €10,000 to €200,000

Application deadline: 22.03.2024

Novo Nordisk Foundation (Denmark), Wellcome (UK), the Volkswagen Foundation (Germany) have issued a joint call: 2024 Transdisciplinary approaches to mobility and global health

Nota bene: potential applicants need to have existing partnerships to express interest

Scope: Projects to inform research priorities, policies and interventions aimed at addressing access to prevention, diagnostics, and challenges of continued care for non-communicable diseases, including mental health and infectious disease co-morbidities, among migrants for work, persons displaced due to conflict, disasters or climate change.

Gift value: Pilot grants up to EUR 50,000 each; Full grants between EUR 500,000 and EUR 1,500,000 each

Application deadline: 25.03.2024 2:00pm (CET)

National Geographic Society have currently two open programmes:

1) Level I Funding - up to USD $20,000

2) Level II Funding - up to $100,000 USD

Scope: We fund individuals working on projects in science, conservation, storytelling, education, and technology that align with one or more of our focus areas: Ocean, Land, Wildlife, Human History and Cultures, Human Ingenuity (applied artificial intelligence and technology, innovations in climate adaptation, natural resources and systems sustainability, outer space, and related fields)

Application deadline for the 2 opportunities: 11.04. 2024 with funding decisions in September 2024.