Reflections: Twelfth NIHR Infrastructure Doctoral Training Camp

DR RALPH KWAME AKYEA IS AN NIHR SCHOOL FOR PRIMARY CARE RESEARCH DOCTORAL STUDENT COMPLETING HIS PHD STUDENTSHIP WITH THE CENTRE FOR ACADEMIC PRIMARY CARE, UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM.

I never considered something as inconceivable as submitting an entire grant application in just eight hours. Not until I attended the Twelfth NIHR Doctoral Research Training Camp. When I found out the theme for this year’s camp was ‘Applying for Further Funding’, I knew I had to throw my hat in the ring. Funding applications are challenging, and I knew I required guidance and ample coaching in this area. The camp would also present immense opportunities for networking, so I went ahead and applied. Fortunately, I was selected and invited to attend the camp held at the beautiful Woodland Grange, Warwickshire. 

The first day was perfectly structured to include presentations from fantastic academics and professionals on lessons learnt for postdoctoral funding, framing research questions, getting value and benefit from patient and public involvement, and presentation skills for panel interviews. Also included in the first day was a masterclass on how to make a good research funding application as an early career researcher, which was akin to obtaining a cheat sheet to the process. But unlike other cheat sheets, the masterclass taught us to follow the requirements of any funding call diligently and persistently, and to be resilient and adaptable when things do not pan out. 

We were put in groups, assigned an academic mentor, and tasked to come up with a funding application for a fictitious NIHR programme funding call on ‘Making People Healthier Research Programme (MRHrp)’, and it was the real deal. There was a steering committee for the research programme which consisted of a Director and Deputy Director for MRHrp, Finance Director, Research Design Service Qualitative and Quantitative Advisors, and Patient and Public Involvement Expert Advisors and Representatives. Our only limits as a group were the research focus (having to be public health related but not COVID infection), our imaginations, and of course, the 17:00 deadline. Through it all, we received expert advice and guidance from our remarkable mentors and had a plethora of human resource available-albeit by appointment only. Thankfully, each team met this deadline and submitted distinguished funding applications to the committee within eight hours.