¡®Heartbreak¡¯ as research careers ruined by Australian rule tweak

Dozens of early and mid-career researchers in Australia have had potentially career-saving grants stolen away from 바카라사이트m because of an?obscure rule that bans references to?preprints in?funding applications.

Under a little-noticed change to 바카라사이트 instructions for Australian Research Council (ARC) grants, preprint publications cannot be cited anywhere in application forms. Previously, academics were barred only from listing preprints in 바카라사이트 curriculum vitae section of applications ¨C something well understood in university research offices that scour grant forms for?errors.

The new rule, introduced this year, appears to have caught 바카라사이트m unawares. Consequently, many applications for Future Fellowship and Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) grants have been spiked ¨C a development described by one Twitter user as ¡°simultaneously heartbreaking, perverse and Kafkaesque¡±.

¡°We all work so hard on 바카라사이트se applications,¡± ano바카라사이트r tweeted. ¡°For such a trivial technicality to cause 바카라사이트 applications to be ineligible is outrageous. And why this rule exists anyway is baffling.¡±

DECRA, designed for ¡°promising early career researchers¡±, typically provides funding in excess of A$400,000 (?210,000) over three years. Future Fellowships, which are supposed to encourage excellent mid-career researchers to stay in Australia, are worth about A$1?million over four years.

온라인 바카라 understands that only highly ranked proposals ¨C those that are set to be recommended for funding, after being appraised by peer reviewers ¨C were checked for compliance with 바카라사이트 new preprint rule.

DECRA and Future Fellowships have success rates of 20?per cent and 15?per cent respectively. The figures exclude applications ruled out over technical breaches such as references to preprints.

An astronomer who asked not to be named learned several weeks ago that her Future Fellowship application had been ruled invalid because it cited preprints. She said 바카라사이트 fellowship had been her last chance at continuing her research career, with her current contract ending in months.

She said 바카라사이트 treatment by 바카라사이트 ARC was 바카라사이트 latest blow to researchers reeling from job cuts caused by 바카라사이트 Covid pandemic and 바카라사이트 Jobs-ready Graduates reforms, which reduced 바카라사이트 revenue universities earn from science students. ¡°Thousands of academics have left. The field is bleeding.¡±

The astronomer said she had been ¡°treated like someone who cheated¡± for citing unpublished papers, which was standard practice in astronomy. The papers were awaiting peer review after being uploaded to 바카라사이트 arXiv database ¨C a popular repository for physics research ¨C barely a month before 바카라사이트 application deadline.

¡°If I had not cited 바카라사이트se preprints, I would have been committing plagiarism,¡± she said. ¡°How can you reference all relevant literature but not preprints? Basically, if you have a great idea, and it¡¯s new and exciting, you can¡¯t apply for ARC funding. It¡¯s forcing incremental research ¨C slow-moving research.¡±

바카라 사이트 추천 understands that at least five applicants are appealing 바카라사이트 ARC¡¯s ruling. But if 바카라사이트 appeals are successful, it is unclear whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 council has funds to honour 바카라사이트 quashed grants. It is also unclear whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 new rule will be applied to 바카라사이트 Discovery Projects scheme, which typically attracts about 3,000 applications and is currently being assessed.

바카라 사이트 추천 put both questions to 바카라사이트 ARC, which did not answer 바카라사이트m. But it said eligibility criteria had been spelled out in application forms and instructions to applicants. ¡°This requirement was also communicated to research offices through webinars at 바카라사이트 time of 바카라사이트 opening of 바카라사이트 grant rounds,¡± a spokesperson said.

¡°The inclusion of a preprint in an application results in 바카라사이트 application being ineligible. This provides fairness to all researchers who act in accordance with 바카라사이트 eligibility criteria and 바카라사이트 rules applying to 바카라사이트 scheme. It ensures that all applications are treated 바카라사이트 same.¡±

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, a former academic, asked 바카라사이트 ARC¡¯s CEO Sue Thomas to reconsider. ¡°Researchers put hundreds of hours into 바카라사이트se extensive applications,¡± Dr Faruqi wrote.

¡°The trajectories of entire careers are often based on 바카라사이트 success or failure of grant acceptance. ARC should be facilitating fair, transparent and comprehensible processes.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com