The Royal Academy of Engineering will be supporting a new programme of Fellowships for researchers at risk, which will be led by The British Academy in partnership with the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara) and other national academies. The first priority for the scheme will be researchers based in Ukraine.
Funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the £3 million package of support will enable researchers at risk to continue their work in the UK for up to two years by providing financial support to cover salary, research expenses and living costs as well as visas.
The lead body for this programme will be the British Academy. The Royal Academy of Engineering will support the scheme by bringing together Fellows to assess relevant proposals and to help with connections between displaced engineering and technology academics and the UK research and innovation community. Any enquiries about the scheme at this stage should be sent to [email protected].
The Royal Academy of Engineering has also signed a joint statement by EuroCASE, The European Council of Academies of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering, in support of the people of Ukraine, the Academy of Technological Sciences of Ukraine, academic freedom and the autonomy of science, research and innovation. The Academy has no active programmes or projects with Russian involvement.
Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, the Academy’s President, says:
“Our thoughts and sympathies are with anyone affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted so many lives, including displacing many academics from their home country. This is particularly concerning to the international research and innovation community as there is already a very large volume of displaced academics as a result of crises in Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere.
“As the UK’s National Academy for engineering and technology, we will be playing a role in supporting those affected in our community through the new researchers at risk programme. We are grateful to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for providing funding to enable this partnership, as well as to others – in the UK and internationally - supporting at risk academics. Through collaborative action we hope to protect our fellow engineers and the vital research and innovation they undertake to shape our lives for the better, and will continue to work with partners across the engineering community to lend our support.”
NEWS UPDATE 14 April 2020 The Researchers at Risk Fellowships Programme is now open for applications, including from engineering and technology academics. The Fellowships will support researchers at risk to continue their research in the UK for up to two years.
- For general enquiries about the Researchers at-Risk Fellowships, contact [email protected].
- For media enquiries, please contact Joe Christmas at the British Academy Press Office on [email protected].
General information for engineers from Ukraine about working in the UK can be found on the Engineering Council website at www.engc.org.uk/refugees
The Academy has published a webpage collating resources and information for refugee engineers here.