PIMS/BIRS Team Up! Pathways to inclusive research

PIMS and BIRS logos

The PIMS/BIRS Team Up! program provides opportunities for in-person collaboration to teams of mathematical scientists, targeting researchers whose research program may have been disproportionately affected by various obstacles like family obligations, professional isolation, access to funding, and the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes, but need not be limited to, women, gender-expansive, and minoritized groups, Indigenous scholars, individuals with visible/invisible challenges and early-career researchers with limited resources.

Successful applicants of the PIMS-BIRS Team Up program will receive lodging and meals (subject to availability) at either the Banff or Kelowna BIRS site, as well as reasonable reimbursement for travel expenses. A key goal of this program is for researchers with caregiving responsibilities to participate fully in its scientific activities. BIRS will provide regular bedrooms (double occupancy), meals, meeting space and administrative staff support for PIMS-BIRS members during the event. PIMS will cover the participant's travel, room/upgrades for accompanying children and caregiver expenses (if needed). Reimbursement is possible only upon prior approval. Funding requests should be made at least a month prior to the event by writing to programs@pims.math.ca.

 

Program Details and Eligibility

To participate in Team Up! Applicants should meet the following criteria:

  • Groups of two to six mathematicians with partial results on an established project, or a clear plan for a proposed project.
  • Each member of the group must have a Ph.D. in mathematics or a related area, or advanced graduate standing.
  • At least one team member with a Ph.D. must be based at a PIMS Member or PIMS Affiliated institution.
  • Each group must apply to be in residence at a designated BIRS venue (Banff or Kelowna) for two weeks.
  • All members of the group must be in residence for the full duration of the visit.
  • Applicants may only apply as a member of one research group.

 

Application Process

One person from each group should complete the application form linked below. That form will ask for details of your existing collaboration, including

 

  • A brief history of the collaboration
  • The context, description, and goals of the research problems to be addressed
  • A short "press release" describing your project to a general audience
  • Timeliness and novelty of the proposed research
  • Partial results obtained (if any)
  • A timeline for the project, describing how the group plans to pursue this project before, during and after the residence
  • A selection of preferred (and impossible) dates for your residence

 

In addition to these project details, you will be asked to provide contact details for the members of the collaboration. All members will be contacted (automatically, by email) and asked to complete a second form to capture their demographic and biographical information. Specifically, we will be asking for

 

  • A statement summarizing the applicants’ current challenges and their request for resources to address these.
  • A list of all members on the research team, including home institution, year of PhD, current position, as well as demographic details
  • A brief biographical sketch for each of the team members
  • The Anticipated impact of the proposed collaboration on the applicants career
  • Details of any existing support from PIMS or BIRS provided to the applicant.

Completion of the second survey by all members of your collaboration is required for the application to be considered complete.

 

Applications

Applications for the September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025 period are no longer being accepted.