Industry opportunities - for prospective MRC Fellows
All MRC fellowship schemes are open to proposals involving industry collaboration, provided that the applicant submits a completed MICA (MRC Industry Collaboration Agreement) form with their application and a letter of support from their industry partner/s.
Fellowship applicants who are interested in incorporating industry collaboration in their research proposal may also obtain advice from the MRC prior to submitting their application.
Advice stage
MRC offers advice to all potential applicants who are interested in pursuing collaboration with industry during their fellowship.
This advice stage may be used whether you are interested in obtaining advice on:
- incorporating industry collaboration as part of a new MRC Fellowship application, or
- incorporating industry collaboration as part of an existing MRC Fellowship, (when applying for an MRC Fellowship - Partnership Award).
To ensure the advice provided is as useful as possible, prospective and new fellows will be invited to discuss their proposal at a Partnership Award panel meeting at the MRC London Head Office.
The prospective fellow who is interested in taking part in the Advice stage should complete and submit the short ‘Advice form’, aimed at collecting information and questions prior to the panel meetings.
The advice is provided by experts drawn from the MRC funding boards and fellowship panels, including industry representatives and senior MRC Head office staff. Besides providing advice to applicants, this Partnership Panel is also responsible for assessing Partnership Award applications.
MRC strongly recommends potential applicants to take advantage of this opportunity to obtain advice, to maximise their chances of submitting a successful application.
Advice forms are accepted and assessed on a rolling basis throughout the year, and will be assessed every other month by the Partnership Panel. Completed Advice forms should be submitted to fellowships@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk with ‘Advice form’ clearly marked in the subject line.
Flowchart of MRC’s fellowship opportunities involving partnering with industry. This flowchart is also available in the guidance document - Industry partnership opportunities for MRC fellows.
Funding Available
Amount of funding available for new MRC Fellowships depends on your chosen fellowship scheme. Please refer to the MRC Fellowship webpage for further information.
Criteria for Assessment
The specific criteria for assessment regarding your Fellowship application will depend on your chosen fellowship scheme.
How to Apply
Applicants applying for a new MRC fellowship award involving industry should apply through the normal fellowship scheme for which their research applies. In addition, they also need to complete a MICA (MRC Industry Collaboration Agreement) form (see section below). Once completed, the MICA form should be uploaded as a PDF in the ‘Attachment’ section of Je-S.
Please note that fellowship applicants applying for a fellowship with industry do not need to submit a Heads of Terms with their application. However, successful applicants may wish to set up a Collaboration agreement signed by both partners prior to commencing the research. MRC does not provide such a template, however applicants may want to consider using the Lambert agreement template or - if the project involves clinical research - the mICRA template agreement. Your University’s Technology Transfer Office should be able to assist you in formulating these types of agreements.
Before applying, please ensure to read the Guidance for applicants; Industry partnership opportunities for MRC fellows and the general terms and conditions governing MRC funded research.
Completed fellowship applications must be submitted via the Je-S system. Queries relating to fellowships involving industry collaboration should be sent to fellowships@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk. You should also refer to your chosen fellowship scheme for further information on how to apply.
- Advice Form (should be submitted to fellows@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk)
- MICA form (should be submitted with your application via Je-S)
- Guidance for applicants; Industry partnership opportunities for MRC fellows
- Terms and conditions
Applications should be submitted directly to the MRC. Applicants must not communicate directly with the members of the fellowship panel about their proposal, unless that person is a collaborator in the proposal, in which case their involvement must be made clear in the application.
MICA form
Every fellowship application involving industry collaboration needs to include a completed MRC Industry Collaboration Agreement (MICA) form. Non-fellowship applicants submitting proposals involving industry collaboration are also required to submit a MICA form with their proposal, however only fellowship applicants should complete the last section (Annex I) of the form outlining:
- how the proposed research collaboration with your chosen industry partner/s will build on and be synergistic to your MRC Fellowship and;
- how the proposed collaborative partnership add value to your fellowship and your long-term career development goals.
For further information relating to the MICA form, please refer to the sections MICA form, Definition of basic and applied research, and IP arrangements on the MICA web page. Please note that Fellowship applicants do not need to submit a Heads of Terms and Collaboration Agreement with their application.
If you have any questions on how to complete your MICA form, please contact us on fellowships@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk, with ‘MICA form query’ clearly marked in the subject line.
Related Opportunities
MRC Fellowships with industry collaboration are part of a suite of opportunities developed by the MRC to stimulate collaborative research across academia and industry and deliver the skills and capabilities needed by the healthcare industry in the UK. Other opportunities include:
This PhD studentship scheme aims to provide a challenging training experience through collaboration between academic and industry partners.
MRC Fellowship - Partnership Awards (PA)
A new award open for existing MRC Fellows to access extra funding to collaborate with industry.
MRC Industry Collaboration Agreements (MICA)
Providing support for academic-industry biomedical research collaborations.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
- Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) are three-way projects between a KTP Associate (early-career researcher), a company and a academic research organisation
- KTPs are managed by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and jointly funded by the MRC and TSB
- For further details on how to apply for a KTP please visit the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships website
Contact
Any enquiries regarding fellowships with industry should be directed to fellows@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk