The Research Staff Association (RSA) and Incite invite you to play in the first ever Manchester Mini Sandpit; a compressed version of the interactive, multidisciplinary workshops used by funding bodies to drive lateral thinking and radical approaches to research challenges.

As research funding becomes more competitive and inter-disciplinary, the need to develop and improve grant writing, creative thinking and cross-discipline communication skills is ever greater. This one-day event aims to inspire innovative and ground-breaking thinking through the inter-disciplinary collaboration of research staff from all four faculties.  Participants will gather into multi-disciplinary groups where they will then work together to formulate novel ideas to overcome real issues currently faced by the City of Manchester, as presented by Jessica Bowles (Head of City Policy, Manchester City Council). In addition to providing the opportunity to improve their skill sets to real-life problems, attendees will also be advised on grant writing and the art of creative thinking. Speakers sharing their expertise and experience of Sandpit events and successful grant writing include Professor Terry Brown (Faculty of Life Sciences – Computational and Evolutionary Biology Research Group), Dr Herve Boutin (Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences), Dr Paul Chan (Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences) and Dr Lynn Clark (Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences).  At the end of the day teams will give a brief five minute presentation, with the group with the best proposal winning High Street/Amazon vouchers!

The event will be held on the 5th November and is specifically designed to appeal to and benefit research staff from all four faculties. It is an exciting opportunity to explore what you can contribute, conceive and achieve outside your current research project.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please register for the event by following the link: Manchester Mini Sandpit Registration