About the scheme
The Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships scheme supports UK-based engineering academics to lead ambitious, applied research in collaboration with an industrial partner. Awardees receive £450,000 in Academy funding over five years, supported by additional contributions from their host organisation and an industry sponsor.
Funded by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the scheme brings together academic excellence and industrial innovation to address real-world engineering challenges – supporting research that leads to new products, processes and services with societal and economic benefit.
Who is the scheme for?
The scheme is open to:
- UK-based academics working in any engineering discipline who are ready to lead a programme of collaborative research with an industry partner
Who are:
- Professors or an equivalent academic position
- Senior academics (lecturer/reader level or equivalent)
Industry partnership
Prior to applying, applicants should have identified a collaborative research project and secured the support of an industrial sponsor.
Funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Why should I apply?
- Up to £450,000 over five years to establish or grow a leading research group
- Turn an existing industry relationship into a focused research programme
- Protected time for research with reduced teaching and administrative duties
- Part-time and flexible working options
- Training, networking and mentoring from leading engineers
- Size-dependent industry contribution (with cash or in-kind options available)
Meet two of our awardees
Video transcript
Our research sits at the very forefront of engineering and biology. So we're actually really, really good at treating water. The issue is it takes a lot of chemicals, a lot of energy, and simply is not sustainable economically or environmentally. Slow sand filtration is low cost and sustainable, but the issue is that it's also unreliable. With my background in environmental microbiology, we're now able to make slow sand filtration and biofiltration a reliable, sustainable solution for drinking water treatment. And of course, then this can be used globally because more than 800 million people are without access to clean drinking water. It's been a complete eye opener and really, really informative to work so closely with Scottish Water. They came to our monthly meetings and discussed real everyday industry challenges. So really this is a collaboration and a co-development of our research project that would not happen without the support of the Research Chair. As an engineer, my main duty or my moral responsibility would drive me to do what is needed to stop climate change. Highview technology is mainly for very large scale applications, which is needed for net zero 2050 because when we would have majority of energy generation from renewables and hence storage is essential. I was fortunate to be awarded this Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair, which enabled me to grow the team from initially three, including myself, to 35 in five years. Without this scheme, I wouldn't be able to get what I'm getting today in terms of training next generation engineers and myself, my own success in terms of recognition. I get a lot more known by the community, not only in the UK but globally. And another indication is that I was elected to the Academy as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020, which is one of the biggest accomplishments I have. I would absolutely encourage anyone to apply for this scheme. It's been really essential to the growth and development of my career.
Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion
We are committed to ensuring the Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships scheme is inclusive and accessible for academics across the UK. Engineering innovation is stronger when it reflects diverse experiences and perspectives, and we actively welcome applications from groups underrepresented in UK engineering.
Support for underrepresented groups
Our Access Mentoring scheme provides tailored support and mentoring through the grant application process for applicants from the following groups:
- Women
- Black people (including any mixed ethnicity groups that include Black ethnic backgrounds)
- Disabled people
Please note that the deadline for applications submitted via our Access Mentoring scheme is 12 March at 4pm.
Find out more and request support
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