Frequently Asked Questions and Who to Contact
| Bursaries | Information on bursaries including the criteria, amounts available and the claim form can be found on the CATO web site at: https://www.cat.medschl.cam.ac.uk/academic-programmes/academic-clinical-fellowships-acf-current-trainees/ Bursary claim forms should be sent to: cato@medschl.cam.ac.uk |
| Differences between NIHR and locally funded posts | All ACF posts have the same contract, terms and conditions, bursaries and access to training opportunities regardless of whether they are funded locally or via the NIHR. |
| Arrangement of research time | Please contact your academic supervisor. |
| Arrangement of clinical service | Please contact your clinical lead. |
| Queries on posts advertised | Please contact the named contact given on the advert or the further particulars. |
| Information on posts being advertised | New posts are advertised via Oriel at https://www.oriel.nhs.uk/Web Full information for each post is given in the Further Particulars available on the same site. |
| Queries on offers of posts | Please contact HEE at Helen.McKee@hee.nhs.uk |
| Statutory leave | Statutory leave such as maternity, paternity and sick leave can be taken as per the terms and conditions stated within the individual ACF contracts. Where statutory leave is taken during an ACF, the time out of post will be added onto the end. Statutory leave is funded by the employing institution, not NIHR. Please contact the relevant HR contact at your NHS Trust. |
| Advice on training pathways and options | Please contact the Clinical Academic Fellowship Programme Director, Professor Grant Stewart at gds35@cam.ac.uk |
| Changing hours to less than full time | Further information can be found on Less Than Full Time Training | East of England (hee.nhs.uk) |
| Are there funding programmes available to clinicians to undertake a PhD? | There are two funding programmes that offer funding to clinicians to undertake a PhD at Cambridge. Please see their website for further information and the next application round deadlines. PhD Programme for Healthcare Professionals: https://www.mrl.ims.cam.ac.uk/postgraduate-study-at-the-mrl/phd-programme-for-health-professionals-at-the-universities-of-cambridge-and-east-anglia/ CRUK Fellowships: https://crukcambridgecentre.org.uk/education-and-training/ccc-clinical-research-fellowships |
| How do I obtain a Visitor Agreement and @cam email address to access University resources while undertaking my research? | Please contact the Postgraduate Administrator in the University Department where you will be undertaking your research. They will be able to make the arrangements to issue you with a visitor agreement. |
| How do I find out about upcoming opportunities for ACF posts? | Whilst new ACF posts can be advertised at any point during the academic year most are advertised in September/October with interviews being in November/December for posts starting in the following August. There can be further recruitment rounds in a March-May time where posts have not been appointed or for new posts. The HEE website and Oriel contain information on posts which are being offered. Please visit Recruitment | East of England (hee.nhs.uk) for more information. |
Out of Programme (OOP)
Under the NIHR rules where we treat locally employed academic trainees identically, the guidelines states that if trainees undertake an OOP during their ACF then normally the ACF will come to an end; however, this is at the discretion of the HEE local office and NIHR Academy. Full info from HEE is at: Out of Programme (OOP)
