Yasmin Robson, an astrophysicist and Daphne Jackson fellow at Oxford University, feels her fellowship has made a “huge difference” to her career. “I can do my research and still bring up my children,” she says. However, she warns that the application procedure is complex. “It’s not easy to apply – you have to make the link with the university, get a supervisor and write-up a research proposal. If you have been away from your field of research then it is hard to write a proposal for it.”
In a similar scheme, “Curie” fellowships are being offered at Copenhagen University in Denmark. “[This scheme is] specifically for women who have been away from research to have children, or have moved with their husbands,” says the dean of science Henrik Jeppesen. The university offers three stipends each year across the sciences.
For those who have taken a break for family reasons, but are still in the early stages of their careers, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in the UK allows students to carry out a PhD on a part-time basis for 5 years, with two further years to write-up their thesis. Meanwhile in the US, the Alfred P Sloan Foundation – a non-profit institution – is piloting a scheme it hopes will make family-orientated career breaks the norm in academia. Their fellowships will be used to take full or part-time paid leave, assist returning after leave, or both. Half of the money for each fellowship will come from the applicant’s institution, with the rest coming from the Sloan Foundation, which says it is expecting its first applications soon.
Dr Sharon Ann Holgatesharonannholgate.com