The Neuropsychology International Fellowship Scheme (NIF)

The Neuropsychology International Fellowship (NIF) scheme was initially launched in 2011 by Professor Narinder Kapur, while he was President of the British Neuropsychological Society (BNS) and also a member of the executive committee of the British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Neuropsychology (DoN). Previously, two NIF awards were made each year amounting to £1,000 each, with one award funded by the BPS Division of Neuropsychology and one by the British Neuropsychological Society. The awards were primarily intended to support neuropsychologists from countries establishing or developing their neuropsychology services, to gain knowledge, skills and experience by spending time in UK. However there was also an intention to allow a NIF fellow to travel to a country from the UK to share knowledge, skills and experience. The NIFs therefore allowed several fellows to attend a department of their choice in the UK to gain experience and knowledge in Neuropsychology, with the aim to bring back some of these skills going forward.

The New Scheme

Since its inception it has become clear that the amount of funding is sometimes insufficient to provide candidates with very much more than cover for the cost of their travel journey to the UK. The BNS and DoN committees have revised the terms and conditions and have agreed for a new NIF scheme to be set up. The new scheme will provide £6,000 for one candidate per year to pursue a small-scale research project in a host institution of their choice within the UK. The scheme aims to reflect the commitment of the BNS and DoN to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and to provide opportunities for diversifying learning across cultures. The scheme encourages postgraduates from under privileged countries wishing to further their neuropsychology and research experience in the UK, or people from the UK wishing to develop and share their neuropsychology knowledge and skills, as part of a project to develop resources in countries with limited neuropsychology services.

We particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be under-represented within neuropsychology, either on the basis of their ethnicity, or due to other factors including disability, sex, LGBTQIA+ status. A committee formed by members of the BNS and DoN will oversee the applications and running of the scheme. Successful candidates will have 1 year to take up the fellowship and will be given 3 years Associate Membership to the BNS. They will be encouraged to disseminate their findings at one of the BNS meetings and invited to write a brief news article describing their fellowship in the DoN periodical, The Neuropsychologist.

Application

Only one application should be submitted by any applicant, with sponsorship support from a UK based Principal Investigator, within any 12-month period. All applications should be submitted using the portal below. The application deadline is Friday 31st May 2024, with a plan to take up the Fellowship between October 2024 and October 2025. Applicants at an early career stage will be encouraged to submit a high-quality proposal involving research in neuropsychology they plan to be involved in with a host institution support (specified by a supporting letter from their Sponsor).

The Award

The maximum value of the grant is £6,000. This sum will be transferred to the host institution in the UK in advance of the visit, and the Sponsor will be responsible for arranging travel, accommodation and other expenses from this budget. Allowable expenses include participant costs for carrying out a behavioural study. All other expenses (e.g. any access costs for imaging, technical support, equipment and desk space) must be provided by the host institution.

Please note, it is the responsibility of the Sponsor and their host institution to ensure that any required ethical approvals and Visas are in place prior to the Applicant's visit.

All queries about this award should be directed to info@the-bns.org 

* The call for the NIF closes on Friday 31st May 2024 *