Visitor programme

The Visitor Programme aims to enhance the research capabilities of the Department by supporting visits which:

• strengthen existing, or develop new, collaborative links at the national and international level,
• broaden the research interests of the Department through the provision of high quality visiting research lecturers.

The Visitor Programme will be overseen by the Visitor Programme Coordinator, Dr Helen Dacre, who will act as the focal point to ensure the smooth running of the scheme. The Coordinator will be responsible for allocation of funds to support visits, at the discretion of the Research Committee.

Each visitor should be sponsored by a member of the department, who will be responsible for making the local arrangements, such as hotel reservations, and for ensuring that departmental facilities, such as computing and secretarial support, are arranged and that the Academic Visitor Request form is completed and returned to the Coordinator. The Coordinator will liaise with the Chairman of the House Committee regarding requirements for office space.

Funding

Since the Visitor Programme has limited funds, staff are encouraged to investigate other potential sources of funding before approaching the Coordinator with a specific request. This applies particularly to the Distinguished and Sabbatical Visitor categories. Useful sources include:

• The Royal Society
• The Leverhulme Trust
• The British Council
• Commonwealth Fellowships.

The EU also offers funds for exchange programmes.

Please inform the Coordinator of other potential sources of funding.

Visitors

There are three basic categories of visitor within the programme:

Academic Visitors:

These are short-term visitors (days to maximum of 6 months) who are normally able to fund their own travel and subsidence costs from their employer or through an external fellowship. Where a good case is made for strengthening or developing a collaborative project with a member of the Department, funds up to a maximum of £500 may be available to support the visit. In that case the visitor would be expected to give a research seminar.

Distinguished Visitors:

These are short-term visitors (days to maximum of 6 months), normally from abroad, who are leaders in their research field. These visits would be at the invitation of the Department after consultation with the Coordinator and the Research Committee. Substantial funding would be available to support travel and subsistence, up to a maximum of £3000. Please consult the Coordinator for details of appropriate funding levels, but note that, in the first instance, staff are strongly encouraged to explore the funding routes identified above.

It is anticipated that such visitors would enhance the research environment of the Department by interacting with a number of academic and research staff. They would also be expected to give a short series of teaching and research lectures within the Department, which would be appropriate for postgraduate students as well as postdoctoral staff.

Visitors on Sabbatical:

The Department is keen to act as host for sabbaticals of leading international scientists in all areas of weather and climate science, including earth system science. Although funds for local support of sabbaticals are limited, we would be happy to explore possible funding routes. Please contact the Coordinator, Helen Dacre, for further details.