Harry Smith Vacation Studentships

The Society offers a limited number of awards to enable undergraduates to work on microbiological research projects during their summer vacation. The scheme also gives early- and mid-career scientists the opportunity to gain supervision experience.

These awards have been named in honour of Professor Harry Smith (1921-2011), Society President 1975-1978, for his well-known support of microbiologists and microbiology students at the start of their careers.

Key details

• Maximum of £3603.20 covering a student stipend and specific research consumable costs
• Applications open on 1 December 2024 and close on 20 February 2025
• Eligible membership categories: Full and Full Concessionary Members
• Minimum membership: One year membership and two consecutive membership subscription payments required.

Enquiries about this scheme should be made by email to [email protected]

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Please read all the information on this page carefully and ensure you have read and agreed to the grant rules before submitting and application. 

• Eligibility
• What is covered by the grant?
• Application process
• Award criteria
• Publishing for the community
• Administration of awards
• Statistics

 

Eligibility

Eligible membership categories:

• Full Concessionary Member
• Full Member

Minimum membership period required:

A minimum membership period of one year and two consecutive membership payments is required.

Applications must be made on behalf of a named student.

Applicants hosting students will act as the project supervisor and must be PhD qualified or hold a senior research or academic position in a Higher Education Institution, research institute, industry, clinical or infection science setting. Applications will be considered from International Members subject to compliance with employment laws and practices of the countries involved.

The student must be registered for their undergraduate degree in any area of biosciences or medical, dental, or veterinary science. Students should have completed a minimum of two years of study on the programme, but not have started their final year at the time they take up the studentship.

We recommend that principal investigators encourage early or mid-career laboratory members (e.g., postdoctoral researchers, new lecturers, and similar stage researchers in other sectors) to apply for studentships independently to gain vital supervision experience.

 

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What is covered by the grant?

Eligible members can apply for up to a maximum of £3603.20 including:

For students:

The studentships provide a stipend of £400.40 per week for a period of up to eight weeks (minimum six weeks).

For supervisors:

Up to £400 for specific research consumable costs may also be awarded. The studentship application process will give supervisors the opportunity to develop their grant writing skills. Successful supervisors will also be able to advance their project management, leadership, and supervision skills as they mentor undergraduates during the summer project. Supervisors will gain experience in managing laboratory budgets and monitoring expenditure, and at the end of the studentship they will be able to develop their evaluation and reporting skills.

 

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Application process

You will need to upload the following with your application:

• A supporting letter from the student tutor or supervisor confirming the student’s recent grades and likely degree results to be able to make a judgement on how they are doing in their studies so far, and to determine if the student has the theoretical underpinning and academic abilities to understand and apply the experimental approach. Please provide clear, accurate and the most up to date information possible.

The Microbiology Society is leading the way with the Knocking Out AMR project, an ambitious, bold and extensive scheme of work aiming to promote feasible and effective solutions to AMR. To accompany this, we are building a Knocking Out AMR collection to serve as a central hub for the AMR content published in our portfolio. As part of the project, we would like to identify any grant applications that are AMR-related. If your application is AMR related, please could you indicate this on your application form in the ‘Project title’ section e.g. title of your project followed by (AMR related). Providing this information has no bearing on the outcome of any subsequent grant award.

Please ensure you read the attached guidance notes carefully before completing your application via Mi Society.

Harry Smith Vacation Studentship Guidance 2024

 

Deadline

Applications open on 1 December 2024 and close on 20 February 2025 

 

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  Harry Smith Vacation Studentship recipients

  Discover how being awarded a Harry Smith Vacation Studentship Grant has enabled these microbiologists with the opportunity to gain an insight into the world of research, providing early- and mid-career scientists the opportunity to gain supervision experience.