All applicants must fill in the Wings for Ideas Template_Sep 2023.docx and submit it via the Wings for Ideas form on Microsoft Forms. The research proposal should be written in Arial pt 11 using the template provided. Applications in another font or not submitted using the template will not be considered. 

• Applications should not exceed three pages. Any application longer than three pages will not be considered.
• The aim of the fund is to promote the advancement of your career; therefore, you need to clearly indicate how your proposed project is different from what is currently being undertaken by your PI.
• You need to clearly indicate your career intentions (what will the next steps be for your venture, product, or prototype) and how this fund will support them.
• This is a great opportunity to use your 10 development days. We strongly encourage you to discuss participation in this call with your PI/line manager.
• A list of collaborators can be included in your application.
• If you are interested in discussing intellectual property implications and further support at Imperial, please contact the appropriate Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation team member (by Faculty).
• All proposals should be pitched at a level to be understood by a non-specialist.
• You can only submit one application. You cannot apply to both Seeds for Success and Wings for Ideas Funds.
• When you submit your application, it needs to be saved as a PDF entitled by your last name. E.g. John Smith’s application PDF is submitted as Smith.pdf.
• No project is to exceed £2,500. Equipment can be requested but will remain the property of the host department at the end of the project. Publication fees and conference attendance will not be covered. The fund cannot be used for salary. Please note all the fund needs to be spent by 31 July 2024.

Career history and track record

Summarise your career to date, your research interests, your national/international visibility and any awards and achievements.

Please add up to five publications where you are an author that relate to this application.

Title and Proposal

The title should be clear and not exceed ten words.

In the Proposal section, you should justify the work you want to do, highlighting the problem you wish to solve. It should be pitched at a non-specialist.

Please dedicate a paragraph showing how your proposal is novel and different from what is currently being done in your group.

Collaborators and contributions

In this section please detail how each collaborator is going to contribute to the project and why your collaboration is best placed to solve the problem you have outlined in your proposal. If you don’t have any collaborators, please add N/A in this section.

Expected outcomes/impact

Please indicate what you expect the impact/outcomes of your project will be, who will benefit from this research, and how you will ensure that this information is disseminated.

Career impact

In this section please outline the impact this fund will have on the development of your career and how it will make you more competitive for your next career step. This can include developing a prototype of your product, commercialising it, participating in one of Imperial’s accelerator programmes or launching your own start-up. See more details on the Imperial Enterprise webpage.

If you are interested in discussing intellectual property implications and further support at Imperial, please contact the appropriate Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation team member (by Faculty). 

Justification of costs (not to exceed £2,500)

Please give an overview of the costs of the project, including a full cost breakdown (consumables, equipment, facility use, hackspace consumables) and justification of resources.

Access to the Advanced Hackspace for approved research projects can be arranged and is via bookable appointments only at present. Access is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. If you need more information about the Hackspace or indicative consumable costs, please contact advancedhackspace@imperial.ac.uk.

The funding cannot be used to cover any salary, conference fees/attendance or publication fees. Please note all the fund needs to be spent by 31 July 2024.

The deadline for submitting your application is 09.00 on Tuesday 31 October 2023. If you miss the deadline, your application will not be considered.

Applicants will not receive detailed individual feedback should their application be unsuccessful. General feedback will be given according to the selection criteria outlined below.

By accepting the award, successful applicants agree to submit:
• A half-page summary of work completed so far by 31 May 2024.
• A one-page report describing the key achievements of the project no later than 1 November 2024, which may be included in the PFDC newsletter and website.
• Present at an event later in 2024.

Wings for Ideas form

The deadline for submitting your application is 09.00 on Tuesday 31 October 2023. If you miss the deadline, your application will not be considered.

If you have any further questions please contact Ines Perpetuo.

The Assessment Panel will be composed of Liz Elvidge, Chair, (Head of Postdoc and Fellows Development), Ines Perpetuo (PFDC Consultant), a previous awardee of the Wings for ideas fund, an E-lab member, a Hackspace fellow and a PFDC Champion.

Each application will be scored according to the criteria below:

• The justification for the project (0-10). Is it viable? Written for a non-specialist? Is the idea and strategy clear? Are the collaborators appropriate?
• Independence and career impact (0-10). Have you shown that the work is different from the work that is carried out by your current PI? Have you made clear the career impact this fund will have? Have you evidenced what will be the next steps for your venture, product, or prototype?
• The expected outcomes (0-10). Are they achievable and appropriate for the project?
• The cost breakdown (0-10). (no project to exceed £2,500) Are the costings realistic and offer value for money?
• Should this project be funded? (Yes/No)