Peer review-advanced research post

[Katrine70]

I would like to ask everyone: I am currently working outside the UK, in the field of engineering, with a non-UK doctorate degree, and have been working for 9 years. I have a personal referrer in the UK, am I eligible to apply GTV through peer review(potential leader)?

Thank you.

[anonvtic]

I would like to ask everyone: I am currently working outside the UK, in the field of engineering, with a non-UK doctorate degree, and have been working for 9 years. I have a personal referrer in the UK, am I eligible to apply GTV through peer review(potential leader)?

Thank you.

Sure. You can try submitting for stage 1 endorsement under the peer review route. I was successful under this route (although I have a UK PhD).

[tttttt]

I would like to ask everyone: I am currently working outside the UK, in the field of engineering, with a non-UK doctorate degree, and have been working for 9 years. I have a personal referrer in the UK, am I eligible to apply GTV through peer review(potential leader)?

Thank you.

Do you have any accomplishments in your field and according to RAE "You must have been awarded, or have held in the last five years, a prestigious UK‐based research fellowship, an international fellowship or advanced post judged by the endorsing body to be equivalent to such a fellowship."

Good luck!

[anonvtic]

a prestigious UK‐based research fellowship - No. Didn't have that.
an international fellowship - No. Didn't have that
advanced post judged by the endorsing body to be equivalent to such a fellowship - I gave a letter addressed to RAE from my University HR stating that I am a postdoc (grade XX, spinal point yy), which is considered as an advanced research post equivalent in salary to a typical fellowship holder. That should have helped because I got the GTV endorsement from RAE.

[Katrine70]

I would like to ask everyone: I am currently working outside the UK, in the field of engineering, with a non-UK doctorate degree, and have been working for 9 years. I have a personal referrer in the UK, am I eligible to apply GTV through peer review(potential leader)?

Thank you.

Do you have any accomplishments in your field and according to RAE "You must have been awarded, or have held in the last five years, a prestigious UK‐based research fellowship, an international fellowship or advanced post judged by the endorsing body to be equivalent to such a fellowship."

Good luck!

Thank you for your reply.

Three things I've been worried about——

a) You must be an active researcher in a relevant field, typically in a university, research institute or in industry;

I am a senior engineer working outside the UK.

b)or advanced post judged by the endorsing body to be equivalent to such a fellowship.

I am a senior engineer rather than a postdoc at a university.

c)You must be at an early stage in your career;

It's been nine years since I graduated from my Ph.D.

So I don't know if I meet the application requirements.It seems that the official will not reply to any questions before submitting the application.

[usman14]

I want to apply for this route as well, even though I don't have a PhD or various publications (just have one). But I am working on a position that was funded by Innovate UK (KTP).

I hope it works out for me.

[anonvtic]

If you think you meet the eligibility criteria for exceptional promise, and are still contributing to original research in your field, please make an objective judgment call (perhaps by having a friend who is familiar with your field review & assess the strength of your application). I personally think that a strong letter from the UK professor is important. Do make sure that the academic who writes the letter explicitly addresses the 5 aspects asked for. Secondly, publications and patents are certainly important, and finally, the statement of purpose is your chance to provide a well-rounded explanation of your research and its importance to the UK society and economy and try and make a cogent case.

For the peer review route, a stage 1 endorsement application needs to holistically convey the strengths of your research and its benefits to the wider community through a combination of these individual elements.

[usman14]

Thanks so much for the response.

Do you think a well-known Professor (British national and resident) who does not know you really well (only has supervised for a few months) is a better choice or a University Reader (not very known and a UK resident only) but had supervised you for almost two years in the UK will be a better person for a recommendation letter?

[anonvtic]

If I recall correctly, the Stage 1 endorsement application requires a reference letter from an eminent academic based at a UK institution. Their nationality does not matter.

In the peer review route, they are trying to assess the merit of your application and whether it is aligned with the scope of the Global Talent visa program. The reference letter is one important component of this holistic portfolio.

The UK-based academic must be able to objectively write about the 5 specific aspects asked for. In my case, at the time of Stage 1 application, I was only 9 months into a post-doc at my current university in the UK. I felt that my PhD supervisor knew my research better, having been a part of my academic life for well over 4 years with weekly meetings, shared authorship in papers, joint travel to conferences, and other professional and personal interactions.

I arranged to meet with them in person at their place of employment, showed the Stage 1 criteria, and asked if they could provide a suitable letter covering those 5 aspects, and stressed the importance of those 5 different aspects, and that it must be on their official stationery with full contact details. They wrote the letter later that week, put it in a sealed envelope, and left it in their office mailbox for me to collect. I collected that, and sent it along with my other Stage 1 supporting docs. This was in Feb 2020 just before the first lockdown. I heard that the process has evolved to be digital, wherein the referee can choose to upload the letter themselves. I got the endorsement in April 2020.

[usman14]

Thanks so much for the detailed response. Really appreciate that.

[lolo2]

You also can ask the HR department at your employer for advise. I see you're in a KTP position, usually there's specific provisions from the University in this regard. Sometimes KTP roles directly offer support for the candidate to apply for a GTV instead of Skilled Worker (or as an alternative), and the institution advises on the appropriate route.

I was in a similar situation with a Horizon 2020 project. The information for applicants without a PhD working in reseach/teaching positions is very vague. I contacted RAEng and UKRI, and their responses in this regard (candidates without a PhD) were also very vague.

In my case I booked a one-to-one chat with a HR advisor at my employer with experience in previous GTV applications and she explained me all the details. I decided to leave it as it is.

Ask your HR and they should be able to give you guidance.

[usman14]

Thanks for the suggestions. The problem in my case is that my University's visa compliance officer is not responding to any of my queries. The HR office seems un-informed as well, and they also point me to visa compliance who does not respond then.

[anonvtic]

Since the GTV Stage 1 endorsement application is not an immigration application, it doesn't hurt to put together the best possible application if you can spare the sub-£500 (currently) fee and (more so, the effort in putting together the docs, collecting and organizing your research portfolio etc). Even outside of the GTV purpose, such an effort helps to take stock of your work so far which can be helpful in your research career. I put together everything with 2 weeks full-time effort (luckily my project PI excused my absence). Having my life's work organized helped to put together a decent website showcasing all my research (which I included in the CV etc).

I say this because among the 7 personal contacts of mine who applied, 3 got endorsed, and two of them were new PhD grads. The other 4 got rejected, with the reason being "skills and achievements not at a commensurate level to present career stage to warrant an exceptional promise endorsement". Two of them reviewed the decision (administrative review is free), but to no avail with the response being that "standard administrative procedures were followed and no lapses were found in evaluating your endorsement application".

So, GTV is still quite possible. It's the whole holistic portfolio picture they look at. Strength of referee letter, CV, publications, patents, personal statement etc, and if they nicely complement each other to convince the peer reviewer, you can get endorsed.

[anonvtic]

Thanks for the suggestions. The problem in my case is that my University's visa compliance officer is not responding to any of my queries. The HR office seems un-informed as well, and they also point me to visa compliance who does not respond then.

I don't think you need the University's visa compliance team support at all. My friend and I (who are in different Universities) applied without the visa team's involvement, and were successful.

[usman14]

Thanks.

"skills and achievements not at a commensurate level to present career stage to warrant an exceptional promise endorsement"

This point actually kind of positive for me because it's not only achievements but also skills. In my case, I have been working in a collaboration project between University and an industrial company and my focus was to build the product (which we are launching next month) resulting improvements in my skills but not that much (research) achievements/publications on the way.

[anonvtic]

The endorsement could also unfortunately have a subjective component i.e. the peer reviewer human in the loop, and could be field-specific etc.

A friend of mine finished their PhD in America, and started a postdoc in 2018 at Univ of Lincoln, and then later moved to the Univ of Surrey. Their research was so impactful that there were even media clippings on mainstream media (BBC) of their accomplishments with them being named in the article. One of their particular paper was cited nearly 60 times over 13-14 months. Their endorsement application was refused. Their reference letter was from a professor famous in their field who heads a multi-million pound consortium.

Another friend (and me) had a relatively new postdoc career with no funded grant applications (at that time), and we both got endorsed. While I had patents (1 successful + 1 failed application), the other successful friend had just 1 journal paper + 2-3 conference papers and some invited talks.

So, this is why it is not just individual accomplishments, but probably also a few other aspects viz. the relevance of research to the UK economy and its impact & usefulness to wider society, depth of content in the reco letters, the strength of case you make in your personal statement etc etc.

Oh I forgot to mention in my previous posts in this thread, the application asks for details on successful funded grants where you are the PI or Co-I, and the value of the funding.

[Katrine70]

Hi all，

For Exceptional promise(Peer review),"If you’ve held an advanced research post it must:
be currently held, or have been held in the past 5 years be judged by the endorsing body to be equivalent to a qualifyingfellowship"

Does the research position have to be a research position in the UK? Are research positions outside the UK also eligible?

Thanks.

[Katrine70]

Hi Everyone, I have some questions about the application criteria. Can I contact the Home Office before applying?

[vinny]

Contact UKVI

Make an FOI request

Do let us know your questions to them and their responses.

[anonvtic]

Hi all，

For Exceptional promise(Peer review),"If you’ve held an advanced research post it must:
be currently held, or have been held in the past 5 years be judged by the endorsing body to be equivalent to a qualifyingfellowship"

Does the research position have to be a research position in the UK? Are research positions outside the UK also eligible?

Thanks.

Yes. Advanced Research positions held in organisations outside the UK will satisfy the criterion. However, please do note that the post must be ascertained as of an advanced nature in the RAE peer reviewer's judgement. There is certainly a subjective element. A letter from the institution's HR/top administrative official stating the advanced nature of your research post might help to strengthen your case, but of course, it comes down to RAE/reviewer whether they indeed consider the post to be sufficiently advanced.

[Katrine70]

Hi all，

For Exceptional promise(Peer review),"If you’ve held an advanced research post it must:
be currently held, or have been held in the past 5 years be judged by the endorsing body to be equivalent to a qualifyingfellowship"

Does the research position have to be a research position in the UK? Are research positions outside the UK also eligible?

Thanks.

Yes. Advanced Research positions held in organisations outside the UK will satisfy the criterion. However, please do note that the post must be ascertained as of an advanced nature in the RAE peer reviewer's judgement. There is certainly a subjective element. A letter from the institution's HR/top administrative official stating the advanced nature of your research post might help to strengthen your case, but of course, it comes down to RAE/reviewer whether they indeed consider the post to be sufficiently advanced.

Hi,anonvtic,thank you for your reply! I emailed UKVI about this issue but have been unable to get in touch with official staff. There is no clear explanation on the official website. How did you know that? Do you know someone who held research positions in non-UK institutions has successfully applied for GTV ? thanks.

[anonvtic]

Hi,anonvtic,thank you for your reply! I emailed UKVI about this issue but have been unable to get in touch with official staff. There is no clear explanation on the official website. How did you know that? Do you know someone who held research positions in non-UK institutions has successfully applied for GTV ? thanks.

In the global talent guidance (both in the browser pages, and in the detailed caseworker guidance), it clearly states that UKVI shall be unable to advise if your credentials shall suffice to warrant an endorsement. That evaluation is solely done by Royal Society's/Royal Academy of Engineering's peer-reviewer(s).

This is a "global" talent visa. Paraphrasing the visa scheme's own wording, the intention is to attract the best and brightest from all around the world to advance the UK's technical prowess and benefit it economically.

I know someone with Chinese nationality, who came to the UK as a corporate researcher for a large Silicon Valley firm with a branch in Cambridge (UK) under the global talent scheme. They did not have a PhD, but was listed the inventor in 8 patents (6 more pending), and had an undergraduate degree from a top 10 US university in Electrical Engineering and a MS degree from a top 3 US Univ in Computer Science (For privacy reasons, I shall not reveal the exact institutions, but It is perhaps easy to identify them in Google Scholar/LinkedIn with some effort). For personal reasons, they did an internal corporate transfer to the company's UK branch from the US, and did not bother with the intracompany transfer or skilled worker routes. They had already started planning the move to the UK during the height of the pandemic/first lockdown. They submitted their peer review endorsement application around Aug 2020, and got endorsed by Nov 2020, and got the visa in Feb 2021, and came to the UK towards end of Feb 2021.

[Katrine70]

Hi,anonvtic,thank you for your reply! I emailed UKVI about this issue but have been unable to get in touch with official staff. There is no clear explanation on the official website. How did you know that? Do you know someone who held research positions in non-UK institutions has successfully applied for GTV ? thanks.

In the global talent guidance (both in the browser pages, and in the detailed caseworker guidance), it clearly states that UKVI shall be unable to advise if your credentials shall suffice to warrant an endorsement. That evaluation is solely done by Royal Society's/Royal Academy of Engineering's peer-reviewer(s).

This is a "global" talent visa. Paraphrasing the visa scheme's own wording, the intention is to attract the best and brightest from all around the world to advance the UK's technical prowess and benefit it economically.

I know someone with Chinese nationality, who came to the UK as a corporate researcher for a large Silicon Valley firm with a branch in Cambridge (UK) under the global talent scheme. They did not have a PhD, but was listed the inventor in 8 patents (6 more pending), and had an undergraduate degree from a top 10 US university in Electrical Engineering and a MS degree from a top 3 US Univ in Computer Science (For privacy reasons, I shall not reveal the exact institutions, but It is perhaps easy to identify them in Google Scholar/LinkedIn with some effort). For personal reasons, they did an internal corporate transfer to the company's UK branch from the US, and did not bother with the intracompany transfer or skilled worker routes. They had already started planning the move to the UK during the height of the pandemic/first lockdown. They submitted their peer review endorsement application around Aug 2020, and got endorsed by Nov 2020, and got the visa in Feb 2021, and came to the UK towards end of Feb 2021.

OK! Thank you very much！

[asarush]

The endorsement could also unfortunately have a subjective component i.e. the peer reviewer human in the loop, and could be field-specific etc.

A friend of mine finished their PhD in America, and started a postdoc in 2018 at Univ of Lincoln, and then later moved to the Univ of Surrey. Their research was so impactful that there were even media clippings on mainstream media (BBC) of their accomplishments with them being named in the article. One of their particular paper was cited nearly 60 times over 13-14 months. Their endorsement application was refused. Their reference letter was from a professor famous in their field who heads a multi-million pound consortium.

Another friend (and me) had a relatively new postdoc career with no funded grant applications (at that time), and we both got endorsed. While I had patents (1 successful + 1 failed application), the other successful friend had just 1 journal paper + 2-3 conference papers and some invited talks.

So, this is why it is not just individual accomplishments, but probably also a few other aspects viz. the relevance of research to the UK economy and its impact & usefulness to wider society, depth of content in the reco letters, the strength of case you make in your personal statement etc etc.

Oh I forgot to mention in my previous posts in this thread, the application asks for details on successful funded grants where you are the PI or Co-I, and the value of the funding.

@anonvtic Your posts in this thread have been extremely helpful. If you have time, could you advise if I will have a chance for an endorsement from RAEng. I am a fresh PhD grad (September 2022) from a UK university and have a postdoc offer to start employment after securing a visa. I have 7 journal article publications (4 first/co-first papers) and 50 citations so far. Do you think fresh grads without postdoc experience have a higher chance of refusal and are there such actual cases that you know? Apologies, I come from a small community so there is really no one I can ask these questions.

Also, how many supporting documents in addition to mandatory CV, recommendation letter and personal statement did you submit? Did you merge all supporting documents to a single pdf and set via email?

Thanks!