Course PhD Course in Grant Writing

The course A330/01 PhD Course in Grant Writing is being offered by the Graduate School of Health, Aarhus University, 2024.

Criteria for participation: 
University degree in medicine, dentistry, nursing, or Master’s degree in other fields and/or postgraduate research fellows (PhD students and research-year medical students).

Aim: 
On behalf of the Cardiovascular Network at Health, we are offering a 3 ECTS course in grant writing, targeted towards junior researchers, who seek to apply for research funding to support their studies. The course will provide a forum of collegial cooperation and support for the grant submissions, where the student’s main supervisor is also expected to be heavily involved. Targeted grant calls:

• PhD and Postdoc Fellowships from the Danish Diabetes and Endocrine Academy (https://ddeacademy.dk/grants/ ) Application deadline: September 2025
• PhD and Postdoc Fellowships from the Danish Cardiovascular Academy https://dcacademy.dk/grants). Application deadline: February 2025.
• Marie Curie Postdoc Fellowships (https://marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/actions/postdoctoral-fellowships). Application deadline: September 2025.
• Postdoc Fellowships from Novo Nordisk Foundation (https://novonordiskfonden.dk/en/grant/). Application deadline: 2025
• Postdoc Fellowships from Lundbeck Foundation (https://lundbeckfonden.com/apply-grants ). Application deadline: 2025
• Postdoc Fellowships from Independent Research Fund Denmark (https://dff.dk/en/apply/application ). Application deadline: 2025

Learning outcomes: 

Becoming proficient in writing scientific grants is a multi-faceted process that requires a combination of skills, knowledge, and experience. By honing your skills in each of these areas and actively engaging in the grant writing process, you can increase your chances of success in securing funding for your research endeavors. Learning outcomes from this course includes:

• Understanding of grant proposal structures and review processes, including alignment with funding priorities
• Knowledge about effective communication (clarity and precision)
• Knowledge about the importance of having a strong rationale and impact statement
• Knowledge about research design and methodology, including ethical considerations
• Insight into budgeting and financial statements
• Insight into the strength of networking and collaboration
• Professional development and progression towards independence in the research community

Workload: The full workload of the course is expected to be 75 hours

Content: 

Over a 6 months period, we will help you structure and write your grant application through the following steps. In preparation for the course, you are expected to invest 50 hours in drafting your application, 20 hours involve meeting where you receive feedback from your immediate supervisor, and 5 hours involve individual peer-review meetings from the panel and workshops, as detailed below.

1. Participants are asked to submit a short motivational letter to describe why they want to participate in the course. (May-July)
   
   
2. Selected individuals are asked to submit a brief description of their preliminary proposal, in the form of a short abstract and a 1-page outline.
   Expected time commitment: 20 hours (writing brief description/preparation)
   (Deadline: August 21)
   • Information on the following should be provided via this link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Nh39Ycv-yke319DfA3ChmJ3VAmXZYg9Gkd1Hvhcan0ZURjI5NlBBTk0wTzRGSjM3RlA3NjAyQVFaRS4u
     • Grant title
     • Name: Applicant, Supervisor, Host institute
     • 500-word abstract of project
     • 1 A4-page outline of experimental aims
     • Indicate targeted grant
     • Select your preferences which committee member you prefer to receive feedback from

3. First meeting with your supervisor and the panel members, to discuss experimental approach.
   (August 27, a room will be assigned)
   Expected time commitment: in total 2 hours (teaching/contact) (30 min with panel members + 1.5 h with your supervisor to discuss the feedback and revise the proposal)
   
4. Grant Writing Workshop
   October 28
   Expected time commitment: 2 hours (teaching/contact)

• Session 1: Empowering PhD Scholars: Essential Strategies for Scientific Grant Writing
  10 min introduction + 20 min review of the questions that the students have prepared.
• Session 2: What to consider when submitting a Marie Curie grant. (30 min)
• Session 3: What to consider when submitting a PhD or Post-doc grant to the national committees in Denmark. (30 min)
• Session 4: Questions and answers – where do we go from here? (30 min)
  Questions are answered, and the students must also summarize three take-home messages that they will take with them moving forward.

5. 1st Submission of grant proposal for review
   (Deadline: November 1)
   Expected time commitment: 20 hours (grant writing/preparation)

6. Written feedback from the course leaders Christian Aalkjær and Emma Börgeson
   
   
7. 2nd Submission of grant proposal for review
   (Deadline: December 1)
   Expected time commitment: 10 hours (grant writing/preparation)

8. Verbal feedback from the panel
   (Deadline: December 12)
   Expected time commitment: 1 hour (teaching/contact)

9. [Submission of revised application for linguistic review (offer to top applications)]
   (Deadline: January 15)

10. Submission of the final grant application
    (Deadline: depending on the foundation)
    Expected time commitment: 20 hours (grant writing/preparation)

Instructors: Emma Börgeson (course leader) & Christian Aalkjær (course leaders) plus feedback panel of experienced researchers from AU TBA

Venue: Aarhus University, Aarhus (other) – TBA

Participation in the course is without cost for:

• PhD students, Health Research Year students from Aarhus University
• PhD students enrolled at partner universities of the Nordoc collaboration
• PhD students from other institutions in the open market agreement for PhD courses

Course dates:

• 27 August 2024 10:00 - 17:00
• 28 October 2024 12:30 - 14:30
• 12 December 2024 14:00 - 17:00