Benjamin Meaker Visiting Professorships at Bristol University
This call is currently open. The deadline for applications is 5pm on the 9th May 2024.
If you are planning to apply to this round please ensure you submit your 'intention to submit' four weeks prior to the deadline, details can be found on page 3 of the call specification document below.
The Bristol Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professorship scheme was founded in 1976 from a bequest from the estate of businessman Benjamin Meaker. To date it has brought over 450 Distinguished Visiting Professors to the University of Bristol (UoB), representing a wide range of disciplinary, theoretical and methodological approaches. The scheme is open to applications from any school or faculty within the University; the purpose of these awards is to bring distinguished researchers from overseas to Bristol in order to enhance the research activity of the University in any field.
Awardees can expect a carefully planned and hosted visit lasting between one and three months, during which they will undertake world-leading, curiosity-driven research in partnership with UoB academics. The scheme offers ideal conditions in which to stretch the boundaries of the academic field in question, with generous and peaceful space for work and life provided, along with monies set aside for travel to Bristol and subsistence during the stay. Our recently refurbished bespoke building for academic visitors, Principal’s House at 1 University Walk, is a haven right in the heart of the university’s central precinct. It provides self-catering accommodation with generous living areas, as well as communal and office space which can be used for meetings. Visitors will also have use of the Verdon-Smith Room, Royal Fort House for workshops or seminars.
A visit to the University of Bristol will encourage long-lasting international research partnerships, developing research through co-authored publications and collaborative research funding bids. In addition to working with their host and host department colleagues, Visiting Professors will have opportunities to work with research-active UoB members at all levels, from postgraduate to emeriti, and they will have the chance to schedule a suite of internal and public-facing activities, from consultations and masterclasses to workshops, public lectures and performances. The Bristol Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professorship scheme therefore offers fantastic mutual benefits for both the visitor and the host, and over time the cumulative effect of these international research collaborations will produce a truly global community of scholars and advancement across a range of research fields.
How to apply
BBMDVP awards support visits of distinguished researchers to the University of Bristol for between one and three months. Applications to this round are for visits between 1 September 2024 and 31 December 2025 inclusive. All visits must take place wholly within a single University of Bristol academic year. Proposed visits applied for under this call must therefore either take place between 1 September 2024 and 31 July 2025 inclusive or between 1 August 2025 and 31 December 2025 inclusive. The scheme offers funds for travel to Bristol, accommodation as well as living expenses (up to £30/day).
Applications should be submitted via email to ird-office@bristol.ac.uk by 5pm on the 9th May 2024. Applications received after the deadline and/or which do not adhere to the guidance will not be accepted.
Applicants should note that all application forms require sign off from their Head of School before the application can be submitted (Section D: School Declaration and Approval), and that the HoS will also need to give approval in Worktribe. Please allow sufficient time to complete these requirements prior to the call deadline. We recommend that applicants contact their HoS with their intention to submit in advance in order to give them prior notification of the above requirements.
- BBMDVP Call Specification (May 2024) (PDF, 315kB)
- BBMDVP Application Form (May 2024) (Office document, 598kB)
You may also find it useful to refer to our BBMDVP FAQs (Office document, 327kB) where we have listed questions raised by previous applicants.
If you have any questions regarding the application process or any other aspect of this scheme please get in touch with the International Research Development team via ird-office@bristol.ac.uk.
We recognise that in some cases a visitor has caring responsibilities which means it is impossible for them to visit Bristol without being accompanied by their families, we have therefore made it possible to apply for funding to accommodate this, please refer to page four of the call guidance document for more details. The exceptional accommodation request form can be found below and should be submitted along with the application form by the deadline:
Researchers who wish to make a shorter, more exploratory visit to the University of Bristol should consider applying to our Bristol Next Generation Visiting Researchers programme, particularly those who are a less senior stage in their research careers. We also offer Bristol International Research Collaboration Activities to stimulate and support collaboration between the University of Bristol and international partners via virtual platforms. Both schemes are currently accepting applications.
