Marine Alliance for
Science & Technology Scotland
a marine partnership for Scotland

 
 

MASTS

The Marine Alliance for Science & Technology for Scotland (MASTS) pools the research talent, involving about 700 researchers, and the management of resources, consisting of over £66 million annually, in marine science from across Scotland. It strives to ensure that marine science in Scotland can remain internationally competitive. It provides the academic platform and knowledge for marine governance and commerce by helping to establish a Scottish strategy for marine science that will deliver increased value to the public from its investments.

These investments are being made in three MASTS Research Themes and across nine Scottish institutions.

MASTS MARINE ENERGY FORUM CONVENOR

There is a requirement for MASTS to develop a recognisable and structured community capable of delivering scientifically excellent research to inform the sustainable development and operation of the infrastructure used to produce energy in the marine environment.

MASTS Marine Energy Forum (MEF) will require a Convener and steering group to:

  1. Facilitate networking and information exchange within the Forum by convening meetings and workshops.
  2. Proactively develop a national, regional and sectorally relevant strategic research agenda to provide direction and a measure of priority to research in this area.
  3. Secure appropriate scientific representation on strategically important bodies to ensure feedback to the MMERF community.
  4. Develop a co-ordinated approach to interactions with funding bodies, Government and other stakeholders.
  5. Develop a structured, co-ordinated and timely approach to the provision of impartial advice to key stakeholders.
  6. Report back to the MASTS Executive at least once each year providing a brief account of progress against each of the agreed objectives of the Forum.

The call for nominations from members of the MASTS community for a suitably motivated individual to lead the Forum is now open.

Nominees will be asked to:

  1. provide their vision for the position;
  2. Describe how they will contribute to furthering the objectives of MASTS; and
  3. detail any relevant experience.

A fundamental requirement of all candidates will be the capacity to demonstrate that they are prepared to work impartially on behalf of the MASTS community.

In the first instance, we would propose that the Forum leadership group has a two year tenure with the option of extension for a further two years subject to the views of Forum members which would be canvassed annually. The leadership group would be responsible for defining their own remit to a large extent but, as a minimum, they should: undertake to operate in a transparent and collegiate manner; organise at least two Forum meetings each year; and provide a brief annual progress report to the MASTS Executive Committee which will be delivered through a designated "champion" on the MASTS Executive.

We are therefore pleased to invite members of the MASTS community with interests in marine energy related research to submit their nominations to become the Convener for MEF. Nominees must be members of MASTS institutions and be registered on the MASTS website.

The deadline for receipt of nominations is 13:00 Friday 4th May.

Accepted nominations will be posted on the website and all members of the MASTS community from MASTS institutions will be given until 13:00 Monday 21st May to record their votes for their preferred candidates.

MASTS Voting System

The new MASTS Science structure has now been agreed and we will be openly seeking nominations from within the MASTS community to take on the leadership of the new MASTS Research Themes (MRTs) and Forums. The MRT Leaders and the Convenors of the larger Forums will be elected by the MASTS community through an on-line voting system.

MASTS Voting System and Protocols (pdf) provides details of how the system will operate and explaining how you can become involved. Please read this document carefully.

This process represents an important opportunity for you to participate in the future development of MASTS.


Acknowledging MASTS Support

It is important that all MASTS support is properly acknowledged and the following form of words should be used.

Non-direct financial support
(in kind support, shared equipment, cooperative links etc): “The authors acknowledge the support of the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland) in the completion of this study. MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions”.

Direct financial support
(MASTS staff or students involved, travel funds and other direct support): “This work received funding from the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland) and their support is gratefully acknowledged. MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions”.


Student Bursaries for British Science Festival Attendance

Five grants worth £350 each are available for student attendance at The British Science Festival (BSF).

The BSF is the largest annual public science event in Europe presenting the latest science, technology and engineering with over 250 events, activities, exhibitions and trips taking place over the week. The British Science Festival is unique among science festivals in the UK as it moves around the country and in the last few years has taken place in Liverpool, Guildford, Birmingham and Bradford.

This year the Festival will take place in Aberdeen from 4th -9th September, hosted by the University of Aberdeen with events taking place on campus and throughout the city. The theme for the 2012 Festival is 'Energising minds' with all of the events featured tailored for non-specialists, as are the debates, exhibitions and social events - which form an important part of the experience. For more information about the Festival please visit www.britishsciencefestival.org.

About the bursary:
Each bursary includes:

  • Accommodation for 7 nights (Monday 3rd - Sunday 9th September 2012)
  • Breakfast each morning
  • Daily vouchers for lunch Tuesday - Sunday and dinner Monday - Sunday
  • The opportunity to attend some of the headline events as VIP audience and free tickets to some pay for events

Any students who would like to receive one of these grants should send an email to masts@st-andrews.ac.uk by Friday 4th May detailing the following:

  • Name of student
  • Email contact
  • Name and institution of supervisor(s): To apply, students must have a supervisor at a MASTS institution
  • How will attendance at the BSF be of benefit to you? (max 250 words)
  • How will your attendance at the BSF be of benefit to the wider MASTS community? (max 150 words)

 

MASTS 2012 Annual Science Meeting

The 2012 MASTS ASM will be held at Heriot Watt University on 11-13 September. More details will follow but please mark this date in your diary.

SFC Funding Opportunities

POOLS ENGAGEMENT IN EUROPEAN RESEARCH (PEER):

Individuals from MASTS funded Institutions are invited to submit a funding application to offset non-recoverable costs involved in preparing FP7 proposals at the pre-award stages. Each PEER application can be for a maximum of £5,000 for any one FP7 proposal (which must involve a Scottish SME).

The EU's latest call for research proposals focuses on innovation and getting good ideas to market. PEER applications may be submitted to the MASTS Directorate at anytime. PEER Application Form (Word doc).

POST DOCTORAL AND EARLY CAREER RESEARCHER EXCHANGES (PECRE):

The main purpose of this funding is to support postdoctoral and early career researcher exchanges with Europe, North America, China and India. Each exchange must be for a minimum of one month. Individuals from MASTS funded Institutions are invited to submit a funding application for eligible costs (restricted to economy travel and subsistence).

Each PECRE application can be for a maximum of £7,500. The closing date for this round of PECRE applications is Thursday 30th May 2012. PECRE Application Form (Word doc).

MASTS 'Small Grant' Scheme

The Small Grant Scheme

The 2011 round of the MASTS Small Grant Scheme attracted 28 applications in total. Following external review, 19 applications for funding were successful.

Further details (Word doc).

The next round of MASTS SGS funding will be released in May 2012

Communicating UK Marine Science

The UK Marine Science Communications Strategy was published last year, as an MSCC initiative. The first action to go live is a UK Marine Science Events Calendar. The calendar aims to act as a central information point to aid planning and to avoid clashes in timetabling. More actions from Communicating UK Marine Science are expected to be rolled out over the next months (and years).

 

CREWCentre for Expertise for Waters (CREW)

The Scottish Government is funding the development of a Centre for Expertise for Waters (CREW). This initiative is led by the James Hutton Institute (JHI) which, in collaboration with other HEI’s, will take forward a series of projects agreed with Scottish Government and designed to fulfil specific policy objectives. Further details and documents.