Funding a PhD

Finding funding for PhDs is competitive, and can be confusing. You may be unsure of where to start or even overwhelmed by the process. However, help is at hand!

If you are seeking funding for a PhD research proposal, this blog is for you. There are a number of resources available to help you navigate the process and increase your chances of success.

Overview

Funding can potentially cover all or part of your fees, maintenance, accommodation, and research costs (e.g. equipment, travel etc).

You can secure funding from a variety of sources, including government grants, University funding, and other organisations such as charities or private foundations.

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The social mobility superstars breaking barriers

The Student Social Mobility Awards (SSMAs), organised by upReach, celebrate the achievements of undergraduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds from across the UK.

The SSMAs recognise students who have excelled in their studies and beyond, and have demonstrated great resilience, determination or initiative, or boosted their employability in innovative ways.

Filipe Costa Figueiredo is a 4th year joint Honours Politics and Spanish BA and has been shortlisted for two awards:

  • Undergraduate Awards: Academic Success for those who have achieved the most impressive academic feats whilst at university, breaking through barriers in the process
  • Undergraduate Sector Award: Professional Services and Consulting which recognised outstanding achievement in specific career sectors while at University.

We chatted to Filipe (pictured below) about why he thinks he was nominated and why social mobility is important.

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The Growth Support Programme: a springboard to success

The New Enterprise Competition’s (NEC) award-winning Growth Support Programme (GSP) is open for applications.

The NEC is a year-long programme that offers you the chance to build your dream business, taking it from an idea scrawled onto a pub napkin, all the way up to a sustainable, successful, and profitable business.

What does it all mean?

After the initial Ideas and subsequent Development Stage, the final Growth Stage begins. It’s the highest point of the competition, where you will be competing for up to £20,000 in funding for your business.

Logo: The word "Growth" in green letters
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What is the Ideation fund and why should you apply?

The Ideation fund is a 7-week experimental learning programme, (running between the 2 November- 14 December), which provides applicants with specialist training, support and funding for founders who want to explore and test out an early-stage start-up idea. This programme is sponsored by The Bristol Grid.

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Meet our New Enterprise Competition winners! 

The New Enterprise Competition drew to a close this year at our celebration event. Route Zero were crowned the winners of the Growth stage, winning £10,000 plus 12-months incubation at SETSquared.  

RouteZero logog, a lime green arrow that links to a z

RouteZero was founded by Computer Science graduate Albie-Baker Smith and his co-founder Dan Brown with a mission of stopping catastrophic climate change through their platform which helps individuals and organisations switch out high-emission travel for greener journeys.

A picture of Albie, founder of RouteZero

“The UK has just experienced its hottest temperatures on record, and winning the competition provides us with the opportunity to attack one of the UK’s highest emission sources: travel.  We’d like to say a massive thank you to the New Enterprise Competition and the University of Bristol for catalysing RouteZero’s potential.  The investment allows us to accelerate our work with customers and deliver them journeys that are Green, Anywhere, Anyway.”

 

Albie and Dan- RouteZero

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My SME Internship: Anastasiia – Altuity Solutions

As students, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to succeed.

The job market is extremely competitive, and often, recruiters already expect you to have work experience when you graduate. So, many of us spend the holidays searching for vacation schemes and internships, myself included. During this winter vacation, I was looking for opportunities to boost my CV when I stumbled across the SME Internship Scheme. It was truly the perfect opportunity because you are able to gain some experience working remotely whilst also getting paid for it.

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My SME Internship: Tom – Beaufort Chancery

Hi, my name is Tom. Just before my graduation, I reached out to Beaufort Chancery in hopes of building my professional experience through the SME Internship Scheme.

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The New Enterprise Competition winners!

The New Enterprise Competition drew to a close last week and the winner of the Growth stage was Kaedim, winning £10,000 and 12 months incubation at SETSquared.

Kaedim, launched in 2019 by Computer Science with Innovation students Konstantina Psoma and Roman Bromidge, is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) start-up which turns sketches into 3D models. Their degree based at the Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship alongside the help of the Basecamp Enterprise Team, allowed them to develop their idea, enhance their entrepreneurial skills and draw on a pool of expert industry mentors.

Below: The Basecamp Team (virtually, of course) announce the good news to Kaedim

Over the course of the year, the Basecamp Enterprise Team received over 100 applications to take part in the  Ideation, Development and Growth stages of the New Enterprise Competition. Winning the competition gives students, graduates and staff the opportunity to win prize money and unlock support packages to help develop and grow their start-up ideas- whether it be a business, charity or social enterprise!

Here’s what Kaedim had to say about winning this years’ top prizes:

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Focks Socks – Ideas Stage, New Enterprise Competition winner 2017-18

Basecamp Enterprise Team caught up with winner of Ideas Stage, New Enterprise Competition and Bristol University alumni Ash Guest. Ash founded the start-up business Focks Socks and has continued to develop her start-up since its
beginnings in 2017. Here’s what Ash had
to say about her start-up journey:

Who are you?
 

My name is Ash and I’ve just started a Masters in Human Rights Law, after completing my undergrad in law at UoB a couple of years ago.  (more…)