Irish Research Council 2013/2014

smeedyova

I'll have to put my hand up for that one :-)

gutenberg

fifac wrote: »

Thanks guys. And does anyone know if they did have a second round last year? I remember from last year's IRC forum a few people mentioned a reserve list, but I never heard anything official and it's not on the Research Council's life cycle document. Has anyone heard anything about this?

I heard of a couple of people who got an IRCHSS scholarship last year in the 'second round'. However, none of them (as far as I know) were told they were on a reserve list until they actually received word that they were being awarded a scholarship, so if you do receive a rejection & it doesn't say anything about a reserve list, then don't panic unnecessarily. A few people per year usually turn down the awards (I myself did last year) so they end up being able to give some to people who just missed out. I presume they don't advertise the fact that there is a reserve list of some kind because they would probably be bombarded with messages from people on said list asking about their status, the likelihood of receiving an award, etc.

Good luck everyone!

fifac

Ruki wrote: »

Chances of the system crashing on Monday? I'm off to Paddy Power!

Oh it'll definitely crash.

k_tos

sureitsgrand wrote: »

Hands up who logged in after 3pm just to see if they had made a balls of it and had made our results visible?!

Fingers crossed some poor pencil pusher in an overheated confused state hits the wrong button before the weekend! *fingerscrossed!

cailleach an airgid

I just checked and my application is not there - assuming this is the 'locked out' system they're talking about.

I know it's out of my hands, I know my proposal was strong but I know statistically it's a low chance... I'm nervous...

Baldlydrawnboy

it's kinda strange to just see the gap where the application has been for the last few months - i'm trying not to freak out about it, after all, we were warned that it'd disappear - but that's easier said than done! Oh well, i should really be working on a conference paper rather than staring at the computer, and at least the prep for the paper can be done outdoors in the glorious heat! good luck y'all - may the force be with us all on Monday afternoon...

lfqnic

cailleach an airgid wrote: »

I know my proposal was strong but I know statistically it's a low chance... I'm nervous...

I think that's the hardest thing about this whole thing - it isn't enough to be a very good student or to have an interesting project when the funding is so incredibly tight. If you feel like maybe you haven't earned something yet and the time isn't right, you can take a rejection philosophically, but when you think that the main reason you won't get money is because they just don't have the money to give, it feels more unfair. It does for me anyway! Then again, people have been warning me about that since I got into academia.

I don't suppose there is any workable alternative, but it's also kind of annoying that the offers only come out once a year - I feel like I've done a few noteworthy things since the deadline but the window of opportunity for using them to strengthen the app has long passed, and the max 2 applications means it's likely to be the same next year. Arrrgh. It's going to be a long weekend

k_tos

lfqnic wrote: »

I don't suppose there is any workable alternative, but it's also kind of annoying that the offers only come out once a year - I feel like I've done a few noteworthy things since the deadline but the window of opportunity for using them to strengthen the app has long passed, and the max 2 applications means it's likely to be the same next year. Arrrgh. It's going to be a long weekend

Totally agree with this. I've done two conferences since I put the application in. The first I made no reference to in the application because the call came in late March and the other I stated I had applied to but was subsequently accepted and went to- neither of which were taken into consideration.

It seems to me that it would make more sense not to fund someone in their first year, allowing a person to prove themselves in years 2 & 3, at least that way if a person could fund two or even three years themselves the IRC might consider it palatable to fund a final fourth year, easing the burden to some extent and allowing that person to join a category of funded postgrads for future job applications.

I suppose no matter how it's done it will boil down to a glut of postgrads and not enough funding either way.

Alcohol is going to play a major role in my weekend!

lfqnic

k_tos wrote: »

It seems to me that it would make more sense not to fund someone in their first year, allowing a person to prove themselves in years 2 & 3, at least that way if a person could fund two or even three years themselves the IRC might consider it palatable to fund a final fourth year, easing the burden to some extent and allowing that person to join a category of funded postgrads for future job applications.

To me, that would seem even less fair - it would either mean a lot of good students simply don't start, or invest thousands of euro and a lot of emotional and mental energy into a project knowing they'll potentially (maybe even probably) not be able to continue. If I didn't have a scholarship from my college and got a no on Monday, there would be no way I could begin research. It would require you to have or be in the position to borrow enough to start, which is one step further away from meritocracy.
(I do think people who are unsuccessful when they apply early should be allowed to apply more than twice - I'm not really sure why that rule is in place, especially since the cuts mean people are far less likely to be accepted each time they apply).

Ah well, I suppose of all the things we have to worry about, reforming the IRC isn't one of them! Onto the booze so...

k_tos

lfqnic wrote: »

Ah well, I suppose of all the things we have to worry about, reforming the IRC isn't one of them!

Thankfully!

pqowieuryt

!!!!!!!!!!GOOD LUCK TOMORROW EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!

lfqnic

pqowieuryt wrote: »

!!!!!!!!!!GOOD LUCK TOMORROW EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!

You too! Hope to god they put us out of our misery early...

purplemonkeys

Yeah good luck everyone! Can't believe it's now just mere hours away... I have taken the attitude that I haven't been successful - and then it will be an amazing bonus if I am...

... and I bought a lotto ticket last night as my back up plan lol!

Don't forget to come back and post your results! We can commiserate and hopefully congratulate each other

DeaKat

Good luck tomorrow everyone! I can't believe the wait is almost over. I too have taken the view that I didn't get it - postdoc - (I didn't last year, but I came close grrrr). It will be lifechanging if I am wrong and I do get it.....

Autumn_Almanac

I've also adopted the attitude that I haven't gotten it... But it'll be amazing if I do!!
I just want to be put out of my misery so I can start making other plans!!!!!

k_tos

purplemonkeys wrote: »

Yeah good luck everyone! Can't believe it's now just mere hours away... I have taken the attitude that I haven't been successful - and then it will be an amazing bonus if I am...

... and I bought a lotto ticket last night as my back up plan lol!

Don't forget to come back and post your results! We can commiserate and hopefully congratulate each other

*meant to do the same!:rolleyes:

Baldlydrawnboy

Anyone else obsessive enough to check immediately after midnight? :-D

In all seriousness, good luck one and all!

Who Knows?

Theme tune for the IRC

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D9jK-NcRmVcw

OpenYourEyes

Was there a time stated that results would be out at/by?

Not gonna be a very productive day at work tomorrow with the constant refreshing of the page/my email account that I'll be doing 'til I get the result....

Good luck everyone!

Well not everyone...good luck to the exact amount of people that there is funding to be given to, minus one.... :P

Who Knows?

DeaKat wrote: »

Good luck tomorrow everyone! I can't believe the wait is almost over. I too have taken the view that I didn't get it - postdoc - (I didn't last year, but I came close grrrr). It will be lifechanging if I am wrong and I do get it.....

Based on last years result, how did they grade the proposal? Did you get good feedback or can you share some info on this please??

purplemonkeys

k_tos wrote: »

*meant to do the same!:rolleyes:

Only won €3 - not gonna a fund a PhD!

Mary71

Best of luck everybody.. I'm on my last chance coz I missed out last year

Who Knows?

Mary71 wrote: »

Best of luck everybody.. I'm on my last chance coz I missed out last year

Will the IRC give detailed reviews on each application or what I to be expected?

lfqnic

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Was there a time stated that results would be out at/by?

Not gonna be a very productive day at work tomorrow with the constant refreshing of the page/my email account that I'll be doing 'til I get the result....

No time given, as far as I know, but we've come this far together - let's not all constantly refresh or the site is sure to crash and drive us all demented! I can't think of a fair way to share the hits out, but lets all try and control ourselves a wee bit (few times an hour?) And whoever hears back first, spread the news!

Baldlydrawnboy

Sigh, I had secretly hoped it would be automated and just click on through at midnight. Having just checked the smartsimple site, I can confirm that is indeed *not* the case.

My inner cynic says they'll be released at 5pm tomorrow so they don't have to deal with rejection emails (e.g. From me) demanding detailed feedback instantly, wanting to know who the assessor etc is to hunt them down, etc etc. I am hoping it's a 9.30 or 10.00 (after a morning team brief) release. Have done no real work for days now other than obsess about this: very much looking forward to getting a life again!

Ruki

Statistically, most of us will have little to celebrate today, so plan on treating yourself to something nice (almost) immediately after hearing that the news is...well, bad. Minimal mourning! Congratulate yourself on putting a workable proposal together (anybody who's starting a project) and get on with it as best you can, so you can come back to them next year and show them how determined you are. To those who are mid-project, enough of the distractions: back to work! And, finally, to those who win: hats off and may you do us all proud; congratulations, and have a wonderful time celebrating!

Autumn_Almanac

I was also hoping it would be an automated email at midnight!

Best of luck today everyone! :-) I'm feeling less and less hopeful by the minute! But hey, it's not the end of the world if we don't get it! :-)

Who Knows?

I reckon we'll know by lunchtime today. Leaving cert results flashback with this tension. Best of Luck, will be well deserved for those that are successful. For those that aren't, you can only build on this experience and be successful in future funding opportunities.

Keep us posted here when you hear of anything.

kellyi3

An auspicious start to today for myself. I locked myself out of the office.

Luckily someone let me in.

But if I'm looking for a sign. . .

bren2001

Well I came in late to starting a new summer job researching. So far I have read through the new comments on this thread. I am now clicking the refresh button on the email. It's going to be a productive day.