Executive Summary

The University of Leicester is making a substantial investment in supporting research of the highest quality. Despite the challenging national funding environment, at Leicester our prospects are bright. Ranked in the top 20 universities in Britain our aim is to climb further. A commitment to high quality, fused with an inclusive academic culture is our hallmark – captured by the description of us by Times Higher Education as “elite without being elitist”. The University invites applications from leading researchers across all disciplines to join us as members of our vibrant and dynamic research community – a community whose research impact is ranked sixth highest in the UK (according to QS World University Rankings in September 2010).

In support of its commitment to research excellence, the University has already created new Research Centres in Medical Humanities, Landscape and Climate Research, Systems Neuroscience and the Future of Work. The University intends to create a further group of Centres (up to a maximum of six new Professors). The Centres can be in any area that builds upon and augments the existing research strengths of the University.

The Centres are intended to attract applications from across the academic spectrum: from the study of written, visual and material texts in social and historical contexts, through quantitative and qualitative social science approaches, to the experimental and theoretical methodologies of the pure and applied sciences.

The aim of the Competition is to build upon existing research strengths to develop world-class multi-disciplinary expertise in areas in which Leicester currently has specialist knowledge. We are interested in hearing from any outstanding research leaders who feel they could make a significant contribution to building up Leicester's research distinctiveness.

In addition to receiving dedicated full-time research time, each Research Professor will also be supported in order to develop their chosen field of research, with the intention of establishing sustainable world-class Research Centres. In order to facilitate cross disciplinary interactions the University will oversee the posts centrally and provide an initial budget for the first three years, covering associated research expenses. After this period, the posts may remain at 100% research providing that sufficient research grant income has been won.