Early Career Teaching Fellowship (ECTF) - General Information

Purpose

The ECTF programme provides Warwick doctoral candidates the opportunity to develop their teaching and research during the transition to their postdoctoral career. Fellows have an opportunity to be creative and flexible within a structured framework that supports their professional development.

Fellows will work with Warwick’s Institutes for Advanced Teaching and Learning (IATL) and Advanced Study (IAS) from October through July, engaging with the interdisciplinary activities of both Institutes.

Fellows will develop their understanding of interdisciplinary pedagogy by shadowing IATL staff, registering for IATL's Postgraduate Award in Interdisciplinary Pedagogy, and contributing to the department's interdisciplinary modules.

Taking guidance from both Institutes, Fellows will also develop a teachable project based on their own research to be delivered through non-modular pedagogic activities. Activities might include IATL and IAS events, Teaching and Learning showcases, and workshops on the Learning and Development Centre’s Open Programme. Fellows will develop an interdisciplinary pedagogy for their project during the fellowship.

Areas of pedagogical interest include, but are not limited to, entrepreneurial education, inclusive education, undergraduate research including research-infused curriculum, student wellbeing, student/staff participatory practices including co-created pedagogies, learning beyond borders and global citizenship, and open-space learning. Depending on their interests, Fellows will have opportunities to contribute to IATL's student engagement projects such as Undergraduate Research/ICUR and/or co-creation activities. Fellows will spend 50% of their time with IATL focusing on interdisciplinary pedagogy.

Fellows will also engage with IAS programmes including the Accolade programme during which time they will maintain an ePortfolio and contribute to the IAS’s web-based resources for early career researchers. Fellows will be expected to advance their career by writing research publications, conference papers, job applications and postdoctoral fellowship/grant proposals.

The Fellowship is available on a 100% basis, and a 10-month bursary payment will be provided. As the Fellowship is full-time, holding other part-time employment in conjunction with it is strongly discouraged.

Specification

Eligibility

The IATL/IAS Early Career Teaching Fellowship is open to students registered for a research-based doctorate at Warwick (excluding the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology). The Scheme is for Warwick doctoral students who have submitted or expect to submit their thesis for examination.

For fellowships in 2024/25, doctoral research students who have submitted or expect to submit their thesis for the viva between 1 October 2023 and 30 September 2024 inclusive are eligible to apply.

The Fellowship is offered on a full-time basis. Please note that doctoral students are eligible to apply only if there are no restrictions on the number of hours they can (or will be able to) work.

Continuation of the Fellowship beyond the doctoral examination is contingent upon successful completion of the viva. Successful completion includes a recommendation to award the PhD or other doctoral degree with or without minor corrections, but does not include a recommendation to resubmit/referral.

Candidates are required to live within a reasonable distance of the University, so as to participate in IAS, IATL and Graduate School activities as appropriate. Candidates must be eligible for residence and full-time work in the UK for the duration of the award. Regarding international student eligibility, please see further below.

Duration

For 2024/25, two fellowships will be awarded, each for a period of 10 months running from 1 October 2024 to 31 July 2025.

Value

For this full-time fellowship, successful applicants will receive a monthly bursary based on the annual Research Council stipend, with payment arranged through Student Finance. In addition, Fellows may apply for a small amount of funding towards research expenses, such as conference attendance, and workshop activity. This expenditure must be agreed in advance with your IATL mentor and the Director of IATL.

The Fellows will have access to hot-desking facilities in IATL as well as having access to the Warwick Library and Wolfson Research Exchange.

Application Timeline

The annual ECTF recruitment round normally takes place in late spring/early summer. Doctoral students interested in applying are invited to attend an ECTF Workshop held in the spring. Workshop attendees will have the opportunity to hear more about the purpose of the fellowships, application process and development opportunities.

Application Procedure

Applications, once open, will need to be made electronically using the IATL online application form. Applicants will be required to provide:

A completed application form received by the stipulated deadline.
A project statement of up to 1,000 words maximum. This should outline proposed interdisciplinary teaching activities (this could be workshops, public engagement activities, etc.); indicate how the applicant intends to use the time and facilities available to them to advance their postdoctoral teaching and research; and plans to develop their research profile during the fellowship period.
A statement of up to 150 words on how their teaching and research would benefit IATL and IAS.
Their CV. Please note that the length of the CV should be no more than 2 single sides of A4.
Two letters of reference submitted with the application form or, if necessary, emailed directly to IATL@warwick.ac.uk by the deadline. One reference should be from their PhD supervisor to discuss their research and the other should be from someone who can speak about their teaching experience, such as a module convenor on a module the applicant teaches on.
The email address of their Head of Department and the Departmental Administrator.

Please note: this is an indicative list of the requirements. The online application form lists all required information, so it should always be read carefully and completed in full, including for material that must be uploaded before the form is submitted. Once the annual application process opens, the online application will be available at How to Apply.

Selection Criteria and Process

Academic Excellence - taking into account:

CV and the two academic references (PhD supervisor and teaching mentor)
Previous teaching experience including the facilitation of learning, and/or demonstration of teaching ambition including for candidates who may have had limited teaching opportunities during their PhD**
Research activities including dissemination of research; awards; publications record, if any; and/or demonstration of clear research plan
Performance at selection event(s)

Quality of Proposed Activities - as detailed in the project statement, taking into account:

Ambition and scope of proposed programme of activities
Potential of the proposed programme of activity to advance the candidate’s postdoctoral career
Feasibility, including the ability to accomplish stated goals within the Fellowship period
Applicant’s ability and willingness to situate their project within the broader interdisciplinary framework of IATL and IAS.

Scope for Interdisciplinary Engagement – taking into account:

The interdisciplinary direction of the proposed work
Applicant’s ability and willingness to situate future teaching and research within the broader interdisciplinary framework of IATL and IAS.

Eligibility criteria also apply. Applications will be considered by a panel of senior Warwick academic staff including the Directors of IATL and IAS.

**We wish to be inclusive and recognise that PhD programmes differ; some are more teaching-oriented than others. Candidates who may have had limited teaching opportunities during their PhD could, in their application, (also) draw on teaching-related experiences that are not necessarily curricular-based, such as engaging a non-disciplinary audience. We encourage candidates to apply even if they have not had extensive teaching experience, and to demonstrate their willingness to learn how to teach in an interdisciplinary context.

Interviews

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend for interview. The selection process usually takes place in late May or early June and includes a short teaching demonstration as well as a formal interview.

Terms and Conditions

Bursaries will be continued beyond the doctoral examination date only when the viva is successfully passed (i.e. has resulted in a recommendation to award the PhD or other doctoral degree with or without minor corrections, but NOT to resubmit/be referred).

As the Fellowship is being awarded on a 100% basis, it is expected that the Fellow will not take on employment that will conflict with being able to meet the requirements of the award. These requirements include Fellows spending 50% of their time with IATL focusing on interdisciplinary pedagogy.

Approval will therefore need to be sought for any additional employment, including teaching commitments within the Fellow's home department.

Fellows should make best use of IATL, IAS and University facilities, for example through using the hot-desking and office space available in IATL, ePortfolios, the Library and careers advice through specialist Careers Consultants. Fellows are expected to attend IATL and IAS on a regular basis, including to contribute to IATL modules and attend the Accolade programme seminars, and to maintain systematic contact with the nominated supervisor(s) during the tenure of the award.

Fellows will be required to submit a mid-point progress report at the end of February and a final report at the end of the award period in July.

It is expected that candidates will acknowledge, in their workshops and publications, support received from the IATL/IAS Early Career Teaching Fellowship.

Information for International Students

The following information is regarding regulations relating to Student Visas and the Graduate Route Visa, and how these relate to eligibility for the ECTF scheme. This information (updated 15 March 2024) is accurate as far as we are aware based on current regulations. If regulations change we will update our information as soon as possible.

While an ECTF applicant is on a Student Visa, and while their PhD course is considered to be incomplete, they are only eligible to work 20 hours per week and would therefore not be able to commence an ECTF.
The academic year for a PhD student is considered to be continuous and so an ECTF applicant would only be able to start a fellowship if, after the viva, they have completed the academic requirements, i.e. outcome of viva is pass with no corrections or they have received confirmation that any required corrections have been completed to the satisfaction of the examiners, and the Doctoral College has been notified.
Once an ECTF applicant has completed the academic requirements (as above), and the Doctoral College has been notified of this, the applicant would at that point be eligible to commence a fellowship as long as their Student Visa is still valid. (There are further steps before the university considers the PhD course to be complete, as outlined here: FAQs (warwick.ac.uk).)
The ECTF applicant would then need to apply for the Graduate Route Visa (after conferral) which would allow them to seek work, gain work experience or work full-time for a further three years.
The ECTF applicant can apply for the Graduate Route Visa once the award has been conferred by Senate and the University has notified UKVI that they have completed their PhD. Applicants must NOT apply before UKVI has been notified otherwise their application becomes invalid; a copy of the notification will also be sent to the student's email. (Further information about applying for a Graduate Route Visa is available here: Warwick - Immigration - Student - Graduate Route Work Visa)
The advertised decision timeframe for Graduate Route Visa applications is 8 weeks, and the ECTF applicant (or fellowship holder) must not travel abroad during this period.

Based on the above, we consider Student Visa holders eligible to apply for the ECTF scheme if:

they will have successfully passed their viva and submitted the final version of their thesis, including any corrections, to the Doctoral College by 30 September, i.e. the day that immediately precedes the 1st October start date of the fellowship period - and
the applicant plans to apply for a Graduate Route Visa once their PhD course is complete.

Graduate Route Visa holders are able to work full-time and so are eligible for the ECTF scheme.

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that they are eligible to apply and, if successful, take up a Fellowship. Please ensure therefore that you carefully check all eligibility information, including with regard to UK visa status and requirements if relevant.

There are some part-time Early Career Fellowships (ECFs) available, which may (also) be suitable for international students. These are offered by the Warwick Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) and further details can be found on their website. (A note re. ECF and ECTF fellowship periods: if a student is awarded an ECF and starts in the summer, and is then awarded an ECTF to start in the autumn, then the ECF would stop and the student would restart with IAS as an ECTF in October. The time spent as an ECF would not count towards the ECTF, and IAS would consider them as a new starter.)

Our ECTF scheme is essentially about providing training and development opportunities in both teaching and research for PhD students at or nearing the end of their studies, to prepare them for an academic career. ECTFs are paid a specified monthly stipend to help with living costs but they are not salaried roles and, as such, do not meet the requirements for Skilled Worker (Tier 2) route sponsorship.