Choice of Host Institution

Applicants for all NERC Fellowships must justify their choice of proposed host institution in a clear statement not exceeding 4000 characters.

This field must be completed using:

• No more than 4000 characters, including spaces, tabs and character returns (2 characters).

• Only the standard Je-S character set; and   

• No specialist characters and symbols (e.g. mathematical symbols) because these may not transfer successfully to other computer systems.

• Please note that typing into a text box is not detectable by the system and is regarded as system inactivity. Please remember to save text regularly.

NERC - Specific Guidance

NERC believes it is often beneficial for candidates to undertake a fellowship at a different institution to where they received postgraduate training or are currently employed. Fellowships offer a degree of flexibility and autonomy beyond a standard postdoctoral position and fellows should be able to show independence and have the personality and skills to be able to exploit this freedom to establish links and collaborations. However, NERC recognises that there may be circumstances where moving institutions is not appropriate due to the institution providing unique facilities or opportunities or for domestic arrangements. The choice of host institution must be justified in the proposal. If a candidate has been at the same institution both as an undergraduate and a postgraduate and does not intend to move on, the reason should be clearly stated.