AHRC International Placement Scheme IPS Agenda v v

AHRC International Placement Scheme (IPS)

Agenda v v v v v Aims of Scheme Overview of Host Institutions Guidance on Costs Eligibility Requirements How to Apply Assessment Process AHRC Q&A Session Presentations from IPS Alumni Q&A Session Networking, Lunch and opportunity to ask AHRC any questions you may have

Aims of IPS 1. Provide early career researchers (ECR), doctoral level research assistants and AHRC/ESRC*-funded doctoral students, with dedicated access to the internationally renowned collections/ programmes/ expertise held at the seven IPS institutions 2. Enhance the depth, range and quality of research activities conducted by scholars 3. Create opportunities for networking with other international scholars at those institutions *Please note that ESRC-funded students will only be eligible to apply to the Library of Congress.

IPS Host Institutions • • Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin, USA The Huntington Library, California, USA The Library of Congress, Washington DC, USA National Institutes for the Humanities, Japan Shanghai Theatre Academy, Shanghai, China Smithsonian Institution, Washington D. C. , USA The Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas, USA The Ransom Center is an internationally renowned humanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin. Its extensive collections provide unique insight into the creative process of writers and artists, deepening our understanding and appreciation of literature, photography, film, art, and the performing arts. • • 42 million manuscripts Nearly one million rare books 5 million photographs 100, 000 works of art and design; as well as major collections in film and the performing arts. Introduction Video: http: //www. hrc. utexas. edu/about/us/ Guide to Collections: http: //www. hrc. utexas. edu/collections/guide/

The Huntington Library, California, USA One of the world’s great independent research libraries, specialising in British and American literature, history of science, medicine and technology. • • • 7 million manuscripts 420, 000 rare scripts 270, 000 general collection books 1. 3 million photos, prints and ephemera Three art galleries Botanical Garden Library Collections: http: //www. huntington. org/Web. Assets/Templates/general. aspx? id= 17334

The Library of Congress Washington, USA The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U. S. Congress and the home of the U. S. Copyright Office. • • • 36+ million books and print materials 3. 5 million recordings 13. 7 million photographs 5. 5 million maps 6. 7 million of sheet music 69 million manuscripts Library Collections: http: //www. loc. gov/rr/coll-general. html

National Institutes for the Humanities, Japan The National Institutes for the Humanities (NIHU) is a comprehensive research hub for the humanities. IPS fellows will be based at one of the six NIHU Institutes: * Research Institute for Humanity and Nature * International Research Centre for Japanese Studies * National Museum of Ethnology * National Museum of Japanese History * National Institute of Japanese Literature * National Institute of Japanese Language and Linguistics

Shanghai Theatre Academy, Shanghai, China A world-leading performing arts university with focus on theatre training and studies. • Practice-led rather than collections-based • Two professional theatres on campus extensive studios • Two key national professional pre-college schools affiliated to STA: the Chinese Opera School and the Dance School Introduction to STA: http: //en. sta. edu. cn/content. aspx? id=133

Smithsonian Institution, Washington D. C. , USA The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex. • 154 million artefacts, works of art, and specimens in the Smithsonian's collections • 145 million of these specimens and artefacts are held by the National Museum of Natural History • 10 million digital records available online through the Collections Search Center • 2 million library volumes • 156, 830 cubic feet of archival material Institute Collections: https: //www. si. edu/collections

The Yale Center for British Art, Connecticut, USA A public art museum and research institute. Home to the largest collection of British Art outside the UK. Collections will be of interest to social historians and art historians. • 2, 000 paintings and 250 sculptures from the medieval to the contemporary • 20, 000 drawings and watercolors and 40, 000 prints giving a comprehensive history of British graphic art • 35, 000 rare books and manuscripts from the sixteenth century to the present • Reference library • Archives with over 40, 000 volumes

2018/19 Places Available & Dates Harry Ransom Center Huntington Library of Congress Smithsonia n Institute Yale Center for British Art Shanghai Theatre Academy National Institutes for the Humanities AHRC & ESRC AHRC Who can apply? No. of IPS Fellowships 5 10 25 5 5 4 11 IPS Duration 2 -3 (months) 3 -6 3 -6 3 -4 3 -6 Window for Placement 1 st July 2018 – 30 th June 2019 1 st Oct 2018 – 30 th Sept 2019 1 st July 2018 – 30 th June 2019 1 st Sept 2018 - 31 st Dec 2018 OR 1 st March 2019 30 th June 2019 1 st July 2018 – 30 th June 2019 1 st Sept 2018 – 31 st May 2019

Guidance on Costs • Total awarded will be a £ 870 one-off stipend for travel and visa costs and a living stipend of £ 1200 for each month of the Fellowship. • IPS fellows will continue to receive any stipend/salary they receive as part of any current AHRC or ESRC award funding. No additional time will be added to the AHRC/ESRC award end date or submission date to compensate for time spent on their placement.

Further Information • IPS Webpage: http: //www. ahrc. ac. uk/funding/internationalplacement-scheme/ • IPS Call Guidance: http: //www. ahrc. ac. uk/documents/calls/international-placement-scheme -call-guidance/ • How to complete the Je-S application form: http: //www. ahrc. ac. uk/documents/calls/how-to-complete-the-je-sapplication-form-for-the-international-placement-scheme/

Application Eligibility ü You must be a current AHRC/ESRC*-funded doctoral students (not in writing up year), doctoral level research assistants or early career researchers. ü You must discuss applying with your supervisor before submitting an application. ü Your must thoroughly investigate the hosts collections (online and/or via direct contact with scholars or curators at the host) to understand the holdings that will be available to you on your proposed placement. * ESRC-funded students only eligible to apply to the Library of Congress

Host specific eligibility requirements Host Institutions Eligibility Requirements Smithsonian Institute • • Shanghai Theatre Academy • • Applicants must select a contact at the Smithsonian Institutions who will act as an advisor should the application be successful (template pg. 3 call spec). Applicants will also need to register on Smithsonian’s online system called SOLAA. Please do not start this process until prompted by AHRC. ECR applicants are not required to hold or have held any AHRC funding. Knowledge of basic (conversational) Mandarin is recommended for all applicants. National Institutes for • ECR applicants are not required to hold or have held any AHRC the Humanities funding. • Applicants to National Institute for Japanese Literature (NIJL) and National Museum of Japanese History (NMJH) require applicants to speak and understand Japanese to an advanced level. For all other NIHU institutes, a knowledge of basic (conversational) Japanese is useful, but not compulsory.

Further Tips & Advice • Quality of applications received is high, so competition will be tough – some hosts more so than others. • Refer to the Call guidance, application guidance and grading scale on the website; ensure your application demonstrates how you meet all the criteria. • Relevance of collections is key: research and SPECIFICALLY identify the collections/ programmes/ expertise you wish to access and why - especially if unique or rare. • It is also very important to show that the proposed work relates directly to and enhances your existing project. • Contact institutions’ curators/librarians prior to applying – (for Smithsonian a template is available in the guidance). • Time spent at the institution must be of appropriate length and at appropriate time in career/research. If the time requested is too long, the host may propose a shorter placement in their offer. If too short the reviewers may find the project would be unfeasible. • Address potential networking or personal development opportunities and additional skills. • Try to think how your placement could be ‘of value’ to the host institution as well as the placement being of ‘value’ to your research. • Highlight skills such as language expertise where appropriate (e. g. for some NIHU institutions, or if you are going to research collections written in a language other than English).

How to Apply • Applications should be completed and submitted using the Research Councils’ Joint electronic Submission (Je-S) System. • Applications will need to go through the approval process at the UK RO prior to this deadline. • ECRs: submit their own application following the UK RO approval and submission process. • Students: application must come from the UK RO and be in the name of someone at the RO eligible to submit an application (for example a member of staff in the Research Office), please speak to your Research Office or Je-S administrators for guidance on who should submit your application (although you will need to complete elements of the application yourself)

How to Apply • IPS has some specific requirements that should be followed when completing the application form in Je-S. ‘How to complete the Je-S application form for IPS’ provides guidance on the information that needs supplied. • Project Summary (Max 1000 characters including spaces) • Applicant Statement (Max 4000 characters including spaces) • Supervision Details (Max 4000 characters including spaces) • 2 page academic CV • 1 page 2 nd academic reference (Huntington applicants)

Assessment Process During the assessment process the following criteria will be considered: 1) The extent to which the proposed research fits the collections identified in the application; 2) The extent to which the fellowship and collections to be consulted would ‘add value’ to their research; 3) The extent to which the fellowship would be an effective use of the applicant’s time; 4) The extent to which the application identifies personal development opportunities through networking with other research scholars; 5) If the intended research is to be practice-led, the applicant’s own practice must be an integral part of the application and the creative/performative aspects of the research must be made explicit.

Assessment Process Applications will be peer reviewed by relevant experts at the placement institution and then moderated by AHRC. Key Dates Activity Date Call open for submission on je-S 1 st November 2017 Deadline for submissions 4 pm, 25 th January 2018 Funding Decisions to be issued Mid-End of May 2018

Any questions on how to apply to scheme?

Alumni Presentations

International Placement Scheme