Call for Expressions of Interest for Convene Enterprise Fellowships 2021/22
Convene Enterprise Fellowships 2021/22
The Convene Enterprise Fellowship programme supports staff wishing to co-create skills and innovation solutions with enterprise which are aligned to TU Dublin’s strategic goals. Funded by the Human Capital Initiative, Enterprise Fellows will be seconded from their regular role on a part-time or full-time basis for one semester. Staff in academic faculties, professional services, research or innovation centres are eligible to apply. This Call for Expressions of Interest is for priority projects during the 2021/22 academic year (Semester 1 or Semester 2). Up to 5 full-time equivalent Fellowships will be awarded in each Semester. It is anticipated that further calls will issue twice a year for the next 4 years.
A Convene Enterprise Fellowship provides time out, to pause intense schedules, explore, experiment and deliver skills and innovation solutions for enterprise. Fellows will be immersed in a ‘velcro’ ecosystem where staff and students from enterprise, academia, professional services, innovation, research and our international partners come together frequently for the common purposes of innovation, talent and skills development. Fellows will be virtually/physically based in the Convene Enterprise Academy*, a new “internal incubator” with TU Dublin, which will help staff translate between enterprise needs and academic solutions, align projects to the university strategic plan, navigate our complex systems, integrate our collective expertise and co-create ecosystems around common enterprise challenges.
* Working Title - subject to branding exercise with our partners in the UCD Innovation Academy and internally
Convene Enterprise Fellows will be supported throughout the innovation lifecycle to deliver skills and innovation solutions for enterprise. Mainstreaming and delivery remains the responsibility of the home Faculty/School/Unit and all projects need the firm commitment of the relevant line manager from the outset*.
The Convene Enterprise Academy will provide
*It is important to note that the Convene Enterprise Academy is not a Faculty, School, incubation/innovation centre or research centre. Responsibility for mainstream delivery, programme validation, quality assurance, enterprise relationship management and/or commercialisation of outcomes remains with the relevant part of the university. Projects must therefore be championed by a Faculty/School with a clear mainstreaming path from the outset.
We welcome ideas from staff under the broad theme of co-creation of skills and innovation solutions with enterprise within some key parameters.
Within the above parameters there is ample scope to include new and exciting ideas from staff across the university which can be progressed in either Semester 1 or Semester 2 of 2021/22. Indicative examples include
The extent to which these solutions can be co-created with enterprise partners is a key consideration.
The following Convene Enterprise briefing session was presented to staff on Tuesday 25th May 2021. Slides to this briefing session can also be downloaded, please see link below.
An Expression of Interest Call for Semester 2, 2021/22 Convene Enterprise Fellowships will be issued in early October.
1. Is the Convene Fellowship open only to current TU Dublin staff members?
Yes. All current staff who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification are eligible to submit an application.
2. Is the Convene Fellowship open only to staff on permanent contracts?
No. All current staff who meet the essential criteria outlined in the person specification above are eligible to submit an application.
3. Can the Convene Fellowship be used to hire new staff?
No. The Fellowship is open to current staff only.
4. Could you please define what is considered an 'enterprise'?
Enterprise is used it its broadest sense and include private sector, public sector and social enterprise sectors.
5. Is the buyout at the Assistant Lecturer scale and does that only apply to personnel hired to cover the member of staff, and not the member of staff themselves?
The Fellowships will be at the current pay grade of the successful candidates. The Fellowships will be full-time or part-time assignments for up to 5 months. Backfill will be provided to the home School/Unit.
6. Is there any opportunity to extend the Convene Fellowship beyond the 5 months (i.e. outside of the semester set times)?
No.
7. What does it mean in terms of the secondment If I am a postdoc with a fixed-term contract, how would it work?
The specific contractual arrangements for successful candidates may need further discussion and agreement agreed as part of the offer process.
8. Can the Expression of Interest application be a joint application with a colleague?
No. The Fellowships are for individual staff members only. However two individual applicants may apply as individuals and signal that they are working on a linked/related project.
9. Can a staff member be seconded into the Convene Fellowship and still use Research working on their lab on the project?
The specific arrangements for successful candidates may need further discussion and agreement as part of the offer process. The support of the home School/research lab/unit is a key consideration and we also need to be mindful of potential double funding issues.
10. What is the estimated timing for the Expression of Interest applications to be reviewed to start in Semester 1 of the 2021/22 academic year?
We are hoping that successful applicants would be informed as soon as HR processes allow after the interviews. Interviews will be held on the 17th June 2021.
11. Is there a streamlined process for ethics approval for the Convene projects?
The normal Ethics approval procedures will apply for this Call.
12. Does the Convene Fellowship allow for additional costs to be covered such as the purchasing of specific equipment and items?
The specific arrangements for successful candidates may need further discussion and agreement as part of the offer process. There is additional budget available in Convene to support successful Fellowships.
13. Are you still considered a TU Dublin staff member if you obtain a Convene Fellowship in order to be able to access TU Dublin facilities and spaces?
Yes. The Fellowship is open to current staff only.
14. As part of the Convene Fellowship, can you co-create and work with new enterprises/partners that are currently not part of Convene?
Yes. Proposals with new enterprise partners are welcome.
Not ready for a Fellowship just yet?
Join our Convene Skills and Innovation Ecosystem in TU Dublin to keep in touch with us as our work progresses. Contact convene.centre@tudublin.ie and we will add you to our contact lists, follow us on Twitter @convene_ie, on LinkedIn (convene-ie) and on this website.
About the Convene Enterprise Academy
TU Dublin’s strategic plan ‘Realising Infinite Possibilities - Strategic Intent 2030’ sets out our strategic intent under the themes People, Planet and Partnership. Our vision within this is to create a better world together, to engage our stakeholders – our students, staff, communities, industry, and governments – in contributing to resolving some of the world’s most pressing issues, and being ready to take advantage of opportunities that arise. As a support to achieving our goals, the Convene Enterprise Academy is being established in TU Dublin, supported by an investment of €17.5m from the Human Capital Initiative, in partnership with the UCD Innovation Academy. The Convene Enterprise Academy will transform university-enterprise engagement in the Dublin co-learning skills and innovation ecosystem through a ‘velcro’ interface where enterprise, academia, innovation, research and our international partners come together frequently for the common purposes of innovation, talent and skills development. Enterprise is used in its broadest sense and Convene is organised around seven major employment sectors (ICT/FinTech, Tourism, Food&Drink, Creative&Cultural, Social Enterprise, MedTech and Pharma). Convene is supported by 36 enterprise partners. Within TU Dublin, the Convene team is pan-university and includes 12 academic Schools, 10 professional services units, TU Dublin incubation centres and the CeADAR, CREST, ESHI, PRST and CASH research centres. Acting as an integrator, navigator and translator between enterprise and the academic, research and innovation communities, it touches many parts of TU Dublin and directly supports the following Strategic Plan Objectives : PE1 New model of education; PE2 Most accessible university; PE3 exemplar for EDI; PE4 high calibre staff; PE5 expanded international activity; PL1 a beacon for sustainability; PL2 responsible global citizens; PL3 tackling global challenges; PA1 open innovation; PA2 a tightly connected network; PA3 being global and PA4 organisational effectiveness.