Why are we undertaking the review?
As an Academy, we are committed to ensuring that our research programmes support innovation across a broad spectrum of engineering research to meet the needs of society, and that they are inclusive and equitable in their offer, policies and processes.
To ensure that our research programmes deliver maximum impact and accessibility for UK researchers, in 2024 we began a review of opportunities to enhance and expand the Academy’s portfolio of research funding schemes. As an organisation, we are currently in the process of developing our next five-year strategy, making now an ideal time to carry out the review and ensure our breadth of programmes aligns with the Academy’s values and new 2025-2030 strategy.
Will there be any changes to our current research programmes?
As part of the review, our Industrial Fellowship and Research Chair/Senior Research Fellowship schemes will be paused for 2025/26 while we examine opportunities to embed greater flexibility and accessibility for applicants from diverse backgrounds. The resulting changes will sit alongside positive action initiatives already in place for some of our research programmes, including our Access Mentoring scheme and recent changes to our Research Chairs/Senior Research Fellowships to reduce the barriers faced by groups underrepresented within UK engineering. We will also look at optimising the timelines across the portfolio and aim to decrease the time between application and decision.
Please note that all other research programmes will continue to run as normal.
We plan to resume both the Industrial Fellowship and Research Chair/Senior Research Fellowship schemes in 2026/27 and more information will be available on the outcome of the review nearer the time. Once the re-launch timeline has been confirmed, we will share details with our networks, and we plan to hold a series of applicant webinars to clarify the details and respond to questions.
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