About UKIERI
UK India Education & Research Initiative (UKIERI) started in April 2006 with the aim of enhancing educational links between India and the UK. It has been recognized as a key multi stakeholder programme that has strengthened the educational relations between the two countries and been successful in covering all segments of the education sector. Promoting joint research in Science and Technology has been one of the successful, strategic and key initiatives under reconstituted ‘Research and Innovation’ strand of UKIERI Phase III (2016-2021). The strand feeds into UKIERI aims to substantially improve educational links between India and the UK to ensure that in the longer term they become each other's partner of choice in education. This initiative focuses on developing jointly funded research and innovation partnerships with core societal benefit outcomes for both the countries.
About DST
The Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India is mandated to strengthen Research and Development base of the country by coordinating, promoting and supporting science, technology and innovation activities. DST serves as a nodal agency.
UKIERI funds various initiatives in India with Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department for Science and Technology, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, University Grants Commission and All India Council for Technical Education and from the UK by Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Department for the Economy.
SUBJECTS/DISCIPLINES COVERED
The partnerships will be open for the selected themes:
1. Cyber physical systems
The advancement of cyber physical systems holds the potential to reshape our world with more responsive, precise, reliable, and efficient systems. They change the way people interact with the engineering systems, enabling a revolution of “smart” devices from smart cars to smart grids, collectively giving rise to smart cities that can address some of the most pressing national priorities. Through the means of DST, the Government of India has planned to set up 25 cyber physical systems across India. Working through a combination of innovation centres and research parks, these systems are expected to act as centres of excellence for research, training and skilling in robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data analysis, and other allied areas.
2. Waste management
The management of solid waste is a universal challenge. Like most other countries, India is facing a massive waste management challenge led by rapid urbanisation in the country. Out of 62 million tons of the solid waste generated annually in Indian cities, only 43 metric tons is collected; about 12 metric tons is treated and the rest 31 metric tons is dumped in landfill sites. The challenge of managing this waste renders significance to numerous interrelated global developmental areas such as renewable energy, sustainable and smart cities, urban design, and climate change. Through the joint statement and policy dialogues, policymakers from both India and the UK have affirmed their commitment to work on this area together.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
1. UKIERI Research & Innovation Partnerships is expected to look at one specific problem, taking a multidisciplinary approach. If the challenge is big for one university or a state level institution to tackle, then consortia of universities or institutions could be brought together to ensure that there is a strong approach of combining excellence and strengths of all participating institutions.
2. Social impact studies can be embedded within the projects but needs to be quantitative or mixed methods in nature.
3. UKIERI funding is designed to support the collaborative costs of the joint research project(s). It is anticipated that a considerable portion of UKIERI funds may be used to support exchanges between the research teams in the two countries. There are standard UKIERI or DST rates for most elements that may be charged to the initiative and all applications must use these rates. Eligible costs include staff, researchers and research student exchanges, with extended periods of research attachments, essential to deliver the project’s proposed outcomes. It should be noted however, that in line with promoting exchange between the participating research teams, all individuals spending time in the “other” country must be part of their home research team and spend the minimum required time with that team, and no more than the maximum allowable time in the other country .
A UKIERI project grants shall cover the following:
- Research Staff and (Postdoctoral) Research Fellows’ (or equivalent) exchanges: it includes travel related and accommodation costs for a maximum duration of 15 days per year.
- Research Students (Postgraduate and PhD) exchanges: it includes travel related and accommodation costs for a maximum duration of 89 days per year.
- Reasonable costs directly associated with the research activities e.g. reagents and other specialist laboratory consumables, (of up to a maximum of 15% of the total amount requested from UKIERI).
- Other costs, including staff costs, directly associated with the delivery of the project and not mentioned above, will be considered on an ad hoc basis.
- Up to four visits each side, per year is permitted.
- Any relevant activity pertaining to incubation (may further be explained).
- Administration Overhead costs of up to 10% excluding travel and field work is permitted. This would cover data collation, accounting and other similar services.
NOTE: The international air-fare from, institute to institute (for example if a scholar is travelling from Manchester to Ahmedabad, the UK institution will be responsible for air fare from Manchester to Delhi to Ahmedabad and back), will be provided by economy class by the sponsoring country and hospitality will be borne by the receiving country. UKIERI funds are not intended to contribute towards the costs of administration or other institutional overheads fully. It is expected that institutions/scholars involved in the UKIERI partnership will ensure that all IPR related matters will be addressed appropriately.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
For UK Applicant
- The Lead Applicant or PI (Principal Investigator) from UK institution must be a full-time teaching faculty or full time employed in a research institution in UK.
- UK Lead Applicant should be an employee of a recognised UK university (https://www.gov.uk/check-a-university-is-officiallyrecognised/recognised-bodies) or not-for-profit UK research organisations and resident within the UK. EU citizens may apply provided they hold a permanent position in a UK institution. Non-EU citizens may apply provided they hold a permanent position at a UK institution for at least three consecutive years.
For Indian Applicant
- Indian Lead Applicant or PI (Principal Investigator) should be scientists/ faculty members working in regular capacity in universities, academic institutes and national research and development laboratories/ institutes.
- The Indian PI should not be retiring or leaving the parent institute during the proposed duration of the project.
- The Indian faculty /scientist involved in the implementation of two or more projects supported by DST (International Group) and which are not expected to be completed by March 31, 2019 are not eligible to be a member of Research team/PI.
JOINT APPLICATION
The project applied for, must be a joint submission by the UK and Indian teams, through their institutions.
The application submitted must be endorsed by competent authorities in Lead Applicants’ institutions from the UK and India.
- DURATION & VALUE OF PARTNERSHIPS UKIERI funds are available for partnerships of up to two years in duration. The start date for the project shall be considered from March 2019 and completion date shall be considered as March 2021.
- UKIERI partnerships will provide for a maximum of £200,000 over the duration of the project. Quantum of funding for the project would be decided by the Project Grant Committee of DST and UKIERI independently. This will be based on Activity Plan and justification submitted by the lead partners of participating institutions.
PRE-BID WORKSHOPS & WEBINARS
- Pre-bid workshops will be delivered by the British Council area teams during the application phase across India and the UK. Interested applicants could register for the workshops once they are announced as a Call for Workshop on UKIERI and British Council websites.
- Information Webinars would be delivered by the UKIERI national team to support the participants during the application process.
- The applicants are requested to send the queries in advance at ukieri@britishcouncil.org. The applications are advised not to make frequent enquiries about the result.
SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION
- Application must be submitted using UKIERI online portal. The application can be submitted by Lead applicant of either UK or Indian institute. The application must be submitted by online by January 11, 2019 5:30 UK time. (Link for an Online Portal for applications will be available from December 10, 2018) For attention of Indian Lead Researcher: Once application is submitted on UKIERI online portal a PDF copy of application will get generated and will be sent to registered email address. The Indian lead researcher is expected to log in on DST portal (www.onlinedst.gov.in). After registration, move to scheme and format section where details about this call would be available in the International Cooperation (bilateral) section. Indian applicant must submit a copy of application form (Project proposal submitted on UKIERI link) along with other annexures on the portal. Applications submitted on both UKIERI and DST portal both will considered for evaluation.
- The Applicant shall provide all the information sought under this Call for Proposal. Applications that are received in the required format and complete in all respects shall only be shortlisted and subsequently evaluated. Please note that any application which is incomplete– including the omission of any signatures and dates on the hard copy version – shall not be shortlisted. Read guidelines in section II for filling-up the application form.
- Only the application in response to this Call for Proposal shall be submitted. Lead applicant(s) and their teams must submit only one application form. Lead applicant shall keep all the other team members/ partners of the project team informed about updates on the project. Any applicant, who submits or participates in more than one application, will be disqualified and will also cause the disqualification of the partnership of which it is a member.
- Applicants are also requested to submit one hard copy duly to DST by January 18, 2019 on address given below.
Dr. Sulakshana Jain International Division Department of Science & Technology Technology Bhawan,
New Mehrauli Road
New Delhi- 110016
Download Notification
APPLY ONLINE
DST - UKIERI Call for Research Proposals 2019 for mentioned themes
Click on links below to download Guidelines Note on Allowances Application Form Work Plan Finance Plan Deadline for Submission: 1600 Hrs (UK time), 11 January 2019 | Indian institutions which receive research grants from DST are eligible to apply |
| Online Link for submission of Application | |