Stepping-stones: the role of internal funding in supporting research careers

Bridging the gap between postgraduate and a successful research career can feel like crossing a canyon, with young researchers often falling into the abyss because of a lack of funding. To address this, the Faculty Research Committee (FRC), with the assistance of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) Research Office, aims to strategically allocate internal funding to help young researchers launch their careers.  

The team behind this work is called the Research Intelligence Unit, led by Carlette Hlungwani, who has been at FHS since 2010. 

“We are committed to ‘growing our own timber’ as a faculty,” says Hlungwani. “This means focusing on strategic funding to support the research pipeline. 

This support can take many forms, from small awards for best postgraduate publication to substantial funding for postdoctoral fellowships, a critical stage where many young researchers often leave academia. 
 

We are committed to ‘growing our own timber’ as a faculty. This means focusing on strategic funding to support the research pipeline.

Gathering feedback and thinking strategically 

“The current funding model is based on a big survey conducted in 2017 across the faculty,” she says. “Through this survey three very clear priorities emerged: the start-up and emerging researchers’ grant, postgraduate research training and funding for research equipment infrastructure. 

In response, the FRC developed strategic awards, ensuring funding is dedicated to these key areas. Additionally, a separate fund, supported by donations and the University Research Committee, provides for an Honours Transformation Award, postdoctoral and clinical fellowships among others. 

Hlungwani says the recently introduced Honours Transformation Award is a particularly impactful grant to financially support students through their honours year. 

“The honours year often falls through the cracks in funding,” she says. “This grant has come as a big relief to some students who were facing financial exclusion. It has allowed them to finish their degrees and go on to further postgraduate study.” 

Stepping-stones to a research career 

For Hlungwani, these internal opportunities, while modest compared to international or even national funding, provide important stepping-stones for young researchers, helping them bridge the chasm and confidently write their own proposals for external grants. 

This was certainly the case for Dr Ntsiki Mapukata who joined UCT as a lecturer in the School of Public Health as a senior lecturer halfway through her PhD. She struggled to secure funding in this new role. 
 
“I was considered ‘too old’ for NRF and other related funding streams, but also, with fifteen publications, I did not fit into any of the categories [career stages],” she says.  

She was, however, awarded the FHS Start-Up Emerging Researcher Award (SERA) which she could use to support her research and publish it. 

“Receiving the SERA was a game-changer,” she says. “I am deeply grateful to the Research Office at the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences for their support and belief in my research.”   

For Dr Mubeen Goolam, a senior lecturer in the Department of Human Biology, who was recently awarded a prestigious P-rating from the National Research Foundation (NRF), the SERA grant was critical in establishing his research career. Through this grant he was able to support two honours and two master’s projects. 

“These funds have been instrumental in helping me establish my research career at UCT and support the work of talented students in my lab,” he says. 

To find out more about FHS internal funding opportunities visit the research funding web pages or subscribe to our newsletter.