Rubicon Grant Writing

This course is only for UG or UMCG PhD students who are very close to PhD defence or Postdocs who have recently defended their thesis, and are aiming to submit a Rubicon grant proposal in the upcoming or subsequent NWO round. Ideally, you have already participated in two more general grant writing workshops before you enter this one (but this is not required).

Rubicon Grant Writing targets PhD students and postdocs who aim to submit a Rubicon grant proposal in the upcoming or subsequent NWO round. It provides them with information on important aspects of the grant proposal: the summary, the host section, scientific and/or societal impact of the results of the proposed project, and the CV section (academic profile and key output). It furthermore informs participants about how the assessment of the proposals is being executed and the consequences for writing your proposal. There will also be plenty of time to ask questions about issues encountered while writing a first draft of the proposal. Please note that the trainer does not provide feedback on individual proposals during the actual workshop.

Format

Rubicon Grant Writing is a one-day workshop and the last one in our three-part series on grant writing for PhD students and Postdocs:

• Part 1: Beginner’s Guide to Grant Writing
• Part 2: From Chaos to Focus: how to develop your own research plan in academia

(All parts can be taken separately as well.)

Template Rubicon grant submission

You can find information and the template for the Rubicon grant submission here.

Obligatory homework to bring to the workshop

1. Scientific summary of your project (200 words) - 2 printed copies
2. Key output (KO) list, with for - at least - 3 of the KOs the quality indicators and motivation - 2 printed copies
3. Updated regular CV incl list of publications/output - 1 printed copy OR draft of your academic profile - 2 printed copies
4. Short description of contact(s) established with host - 1 printed copy
5. Description of possible impact of Rubicon on your personal career - 1 printed copy

Learning goals

• Participants will learn how the Rubicon review process works and how that influences the way the proposal needs to be written.
• Participants will become knowledgeable about how both content and format of writing a grant proposal are crucial in convincing panel members to judge their grant as fundable.
• Participants will gain experience in writing a scientific summary for a multidisciplinary assessment committee
• Participants will learn what to focus on in the different parts of the Rubicon application, and how to connect the different parts
• Participants will become knowledgeable about how to connect the different parts of the Rubicon application.

Keywords

Rubicon grant proposal, Rubicon review process, Scientific summary, Proposal content and format, Narrative CV, Key Output, Academic Profile, Impact.

Practical information

• Several workshops are offered throughout the year, corresponding with the different Rubicon application deadlines
• The workshop starts at 9:00h and ends at 15:00h
• The workshop takes place onsite in Groningen
• Lunch is included
• Details on the location will be shared by email one week in advance
• A minimum of 4 participants is required