Discipline hopping grants scheme

This scheme was administered by the MRC

BBSRC’s Flexible Interchange Programme (FLIP) has been developed to support the movement of people between different environments, vital to the exchange of knowledge, technology and skills within the bioscience sector.

FLIP interchanges could potentially support a programme that aims to foster interdisciplinary research through spending time in different scientific contexts and by integrating new techniques or methodologies e.g. expansion of mathematical and/or engineering skills by a biologist, learning a specialist methodology in an emerging area, or developing a new research method using existing infrastructure.

Further details of FLIP can be found at FLexible Interchange Programme (FLIP).

Co-funding

Medical Research Council (MRC)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) - when awards are within remit
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) - when awards are within remit

Funding total

£1.5M

A list of awards made by this scheme can be found on the MRC website.

No. of projects funded

18 projects were funded from the 81 applications received (22%).

Purpose

To provides short-term support to pump-prime new interdisciplinary research, with the aim of fostering longer-term collaborations between engineering and the physical and life sciences.

Key aims

To encourage researchers to develop imaginative ways of using techniques or expertise from the physical sciences to tackle biological or medical related problems, and vice versa. The remit of the scheme is deliberately very broad and the emphasis is on the ‘hop’ itself.

Contact

Clarissa Edwards
clarissa.edwards@bbsrc.ac.uk
tel: 01793 413366