IDEA Board Experience Programme – Application Questions

The IDEA Apprentice Candidate Application form is available on Microsoft Forms via the button below.

Apply Now: Deadline 27th September 2021 (11:59pm)

For the application form, you will be asked the following questions in the following order:

Section One

• Name
• University of Oxford email address
• Are you are a University of Oxford staff member, academic or researcher, or DPhil student?
• Please provide your professional biography (250 words maximum). Please refer IDEA’s ‘How to write a Bio’ guidance on the IDEA website.
• Please upload your CV (two pages maximum). Please include all relevant details of your qualifications and professional experiences.
• Which sectors are of most interest to you? Options: Consumer & Retail, Creative & Cultural, Education & Knowledge; Finance; Health & Wellbeing; IT & Digital; Science & Technology; Social Enterprise; Other
• Are there any sectors you are not interested in?  Options: Consumer & Retail, Creative & Cultural, Education & Knowledge; Finance; Health & Wellbeing; IT & Digital; Science & Technology; Social Enterprise; Other
• Do you have any board or trustee experience (e.g. corporate, non-profit or school trustees). If so, please provide details below.

Section Two – Board Skills: Interest and Experience 

• You will be asked to rate your interest and experience in each of the following areas:
• Corporate awareness and governance: overseeing the rules practices and processes by which a business is directed and controlled.
• Risk Management: developing an awareness of the key risks associated with developing and maintaining a business.
• Commercial Activity and Awareness: developing business acumen and being responsible for the commercial success of a business.
• Research and analysis: providing a business with accurate, well-sourced and up-to-date information.

You will be asked the following questions:

• Have you ever attended any director courses/training? If so, which?
• Why do you want to join the IDEA Board Experience Programme (250 words maximum)?
• Briefly describe what value you believe you would bring to a board (100 words maximum).
• Briefly describe your personal values and leadership style (100 words maximum).
• Do you have any other information that you’d like to be considered as part of your application?

Section Three: IDEA Equality and Diversity Monitoring Survey

In this optional section of the application form, you will be asked questions on your gender, age (DOB), ethnicity, and disability. You have the option to skip these questions and will always have the option to ‘prefer not to say’ if you do not feel comfortable sharing this information. 

All personal data provided to IDEA will be processed in accordance with current UK data protection legislation, including the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Further information on how we use personal data and how you can exercise your rights as a data subject can be found in the IDEA Privacy Notice: https://eship.ox.ac.uk/privacy-policy/

Section Four: Confirmation of eligibility for IDEA Board Experience Programme

• Be a member of research or professional services staff at the University of Oxford. Please note that IDEA will prioritise staff of the University of Oxford for the IDEA Board Experience Programme and will only consider applications by DPhil students if we have spaces available on the programme. You will need to apply for the programme using a University of Oxford email address.
• Have an employment contract with the University of Oxford until August 2022, at minimum. If you are a DPhil student, you must still be working on your DPhil until August 2022.
• Have the consent of your line manager or PI to participate in the IDEA Board Experience Programme.
• Be available for two compulsory induction workshops run by IDEA and Women on Boards on 13th October 2021 (1-3pm BST) and 3rd November 2021 (1-2pm BST).
• Be available to attend boardroom meetings on scheduled dates set by the host company.

Please note that successful Board Apprentices will be required to pay a £50 deposit to reserve a place – if this will be a problem, please contact us in confidence. All deposits will be returned within one month of the programme completion (in August 2022). Any incurred travel expenses as part of the programme or associated with host board meetings will need to be paid by Board Apprentices.

• You will be asked to confirm that you will be able to meeting this criteria. 
• You will be asked to confirm that you are happy for IDEA to collect and retain the data provided in your application to fulfil our purposes for the IDEA Board Experience Programme.
• You will be asked to submit your application.