I'm just 're posting this with a more meaningful thread name. Does anyone know about ways of getting funding from say a UK research council or other organisation to do a fellowship abroad? I'll be looking into this and will report what I find, but if anyone has any experience / insight it'd be great to hear it. Thanks!

Not sure if this 100% relevant but I will share this story.

There was an international post-doc from Italy at my Uni. He got his PhD at a partner university and he applied for a special international post-doc grant in Italy. Basically an Italian research council, similar to the leverhulme trust, agreed to pay half his post-doc abroad if he could get funding for the other half. He then said it was easy to get the rest of the funding as he was effectively a half-price post-doc.

Not sure if that is 100% helpful but might be an option.

Thanks for sharing - titbits of info like this are just what I need - it may end up that I can wrangle something like this.

OK... I've had a bit more time to search now, and I think basically that it is pretty hard or near impossible to get funding to do a postdoc in the States unless the funding money already exists over there, and you are hired by the PI (either through formally applying or being named as one on a grant - in which case they'd have to demonstrate why you were significantly better for the position than a US postdoc). Just sharing what I've found!

I think the major problem in science (and maybe everything) is money. Applying for fund is difficult and applying for a funded Postdoc/PhD is competitive. Also when you become an experienced researcher/ PI you have to apply for your own fund. I think instituions and research bodies need to invest more in science.

Just marry an American :) Marrying someone to get post-doc funding is a legitimate reason.



You can get post-doc funding as PhD student it is just very competitive. It is the entire post-doc sector that is competitive as there are not enough post-doc jobs for every PhD student. And to be honest it is better that way, only so many people can become lecturers, and we need to get fresh PhD holders out into the real world.