We have been monitoring the development of Covid-19 in the UK closely, and are following the government’s latest advice. Our absolute priority in this difficult period is the welfare of Academy staff, Fellows, awardees and other stakeholders.
Your Academy grant
If you have any concerns about fulfilling the terms of an active grant under the current circumstances, please do get in touch with your programme manager. Please be assured that the Academy will accommodate necessary changes to your projects/activities as much as possible and will honour costs that you have incurred in good faith whether plans go ahead or not.
We anticipate that most grants that involve international travel or collaboration will require significant extensions and are working with our funders to put suitable plans in place.
Meetings and travel
We have taken the decision to close Prince Philip House to all regular business from 20 March onwards, and all Academy meetings will be hosted virtually rather than in person. Instructions for joining a meeting remotely will be sent out by the meeting organiser.
For all other travel and meetings, please follow the advice of your employer and the government. Where that advice is not yet clear, we strongly recommend precautionary measures and the use of digital tools wherever possible.
Events at the Academy
The Royal Academy of Engineering closed its London premises, Prince Philip House, on 20 March 2020 until further notice, in response to government guidance to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Events and meetings are now being hosted virtually for all of the Academy’s major areas of work, including innovation, talent & diversity, policy and public engagement.
There are no plans for any Academy events to take place in person before the end of 2020.
The Royal Academy of Engineering has launched the Academy CAFÉ: Connecting Awardees, Fostering Engagement, a new online series to provide engagement for research awardees and alumni. Find out more here.
Support from Academy staff
Academy staff have been instructed to work from home unless it is essential to the business for them to come into the office. We are well-equipped for remote working, and the support we provide you with will continue as usual, with the exception of the changes noted above. Your main point of contact will continue to be your programme manager, and they will alert you to an alternative contact if they are unavailable for a period of time.
This is a fast-moving situation and we will continue to review our plans and update you as appropriate. In the meantime, we wish you and your families well in what will be an unsettling period for us all.
If you have any questions, please contact your programme manager.