FAQ

The Royal Academy of Engineering Industrial Fellowships scheme enables mid-career academics and industrialists to undertake a collaborative research project in either an industrial or academic environment, where one party would host the other. The scheme aims to strengthen the strategic relationship between industry and academia by providing an opportunity to establish or enhance collaborative research between the two parties.

Applicants can be of any nationality. Applicants with both new and existing partnerships are eligible to apply. SME and medium-sized industrial organisations are welcome to particularly apply.

For academia to industry fellowships, applicants should be mid-career academics (lecturer, reader or equivalent). Professorial candidates are not eligible for this scheme. Applicants should hold a permanent academic post at a UK university.

For industry to academia fellowships, applicants must hold a permanent post in the UK in an industrial organisation and should be degree qualified or have a professional qualification, such as being a chartered engineer. Typically it is expected that applicants for this fellowship option will have at least 5 years of relevant accumulated experience of working in engineering industry.

The scheme aims to strengthen the strategic relationship between the university and the industry host by providing an opportunity to establish or enhance collaborative research between the two parties.

• Companies can improve business performance through developing new techniques or technologies, de-risk investment in research, and extend the capabilities and expertise available to the business
• It is expected that the fellowship will allow industrialists to establish and strengthen corporate and personal links and enhance knowledge transfer in engineering with academia
• For academics, these benefits can include the opportunity to address challenging research questions with real-world applications, see their research have tangible impacts and gain access to new skills, data or equipment. It also enables the academic to improve the quality and industrial relevance of their teaching

In this round, the Academy’s contribution will be capped at a maximum of £50k per annum (excluding overheads). Awards which exceed 1 year in duration will be capped at £100k.

Individuals with fellowships lasting longer than 1 year will be provided with a mentor (a Fellow of the Academy) to provide independent expert advice and guidance on research related matters throughout the duration of the award.

Networking opportunities with and through the Academy’s Fellowship and events programme.

Training opportunities provided by the Academy.

​No.

The award contributes to the basic salary cost (excluding overheads) of the applicant (including National Insurance and superannuation) paid pro rata against the amount of time to be spent on the fellowship.

It is expected that the successful university/industrial organisation will use the salary savings to support the award, for example by paying for a replacement or contributing to travel and accommodation costs.

The Academy does not get involved in post-award negotiations related to the award values and any travel and other expenses should have been accurately assessed at the time of your application.

Salary increments must be accounted for at the time of application.

Frequency of award cycle

The award is open annually, opens December and closes in February. This page is updated with specific dates each year.

Timeline of application process

• Stage 1: Call for applications – December to end of February
• Stage 2: Review period – March - May 
• Stage 3: Selection panel for all applications - May

Start date of award

All Fellowships awarded start in September - October. 

Duration of award

Awards can be for six months to two years full-time or part-time. Fellowships can be held part time at a minimum of 25% full time equivalent.

Applications will be reviewed and assessed by a Selection Panel comprising of Fellows of the Academy and co-opted experts as deemed necessary. They will take into account a number of factors, including:

The full application will receive a minimum of two reviews. Reviewers will provide comments against each of the following assessment criteria, the overall quality of the application and a recommendation on whether the application should be shortlisted for funding.

For “academia to industry fellowship” applications the reviews are based on the following factors:

• Good in-kind and monetary support declared by the industrial organisation
• Clear work packages, milestones, and objectives outlined
• Consideration of the geographical location of all collaborators involved
• Contemporary research topic.
• A strong CV.
• A good publication record.
• The application is easy to read and not overly technical.
• Strong letters of support indicating genuine buy in from all parties.
• Clear indication that the industrial organisation is interested or committed to the project, which exceeds simply hosting an awardee.
• Clear indication of how central to the business the nature of this research project is.
• Clear (quick) routes to exploitation defined within the application.

For “industry to academia fellowship” applications the reviews are based on the following factor

• Good in-kind and monetary support declared by the industrial organisation.
• Clear work packages, milestones, and objectives outlined.
• Consideration of the geographical location of all collaborators involved.
• Contemporary research topic.
• A strong CV.
• A good publication record or appropriate industry specific KPIs (such as prizes, competitions, significant contracts and role within the contract, impact on sales etc)
• The application is easy to read and not overly technical.
• Strong letters of support indicating genuine buy in from all parties.
• Clear indication that the industrial organisation is interested or committed to the project, which exceeds simply hosting an awardee.
• Clear indication of how central to the business the nature of this research project is.
• Clear (quick) routes to exploitation defined within the application.

Applicants will be notified whether their application has been successful May - June 2024.

Before applying, please carefully read the guidance notes found on our How to apply page.

All applications must be submitted via the Academy's online Grant Management System.

Application Form (you must first register with the system and create a profile)

No.

Resubmissions are not allowed. However, individuals are free to apply in subsequent rounds providing there is strong evidence that reviewer feedback has been incorporated.

Yes, you are eligible to reapply even if your current Industrial Fellowship is coming to an end. However, subsequent applications are not considered extensions and will be reviewed along side the new rounds pool of applicants. A new award is not guaranteed. Applicants are advised to consider carefully how another Industrial Fellowship would further stengthen the strategic relationship between all parties before applying. A good case will need to be made in your new application.

Awardees are responsible for ensuring that the knowledge and skills acquired through the Fellowship are appropriately disseminated and applied once the Fellowship has ended. A final report on the Fellowship is to be submitted to the Academy within one month of the completion of the award. A follow-up report must also be submitted to the Academy one year after the completion of the Fellowship to assess the longer-term impact.

The host organisation will also be required to contribute to reports. For Fellowships longer than 12 months, the awardee must submit an annual progress report to the Academy, which will be reviewed and evaluated.

Programme Manager

Fellowships may be held at a minimum of 25% part time. As long as you give a full commitment to the aims and objectives of your secondment for the required time, you may continue with other duties during the rest of the week. Your intention to hold the secondment part-time must be declared as part of the application.

For academia to industry and industry to academia fellowships:

Contributions towards costs from the industrial host organisation are expected. Industry hosts should demonstrate a level of commitment via an auditable in-kind contribution and/or an appropriate cash contribution. It is expected that this industrial contribution would be made proportionate to the size of the company (for more information please refer to the guidance notes).

Applications for Fellowships to non-industrial host organisations can be accepted providing that you can clearly demonstrate that the experience gained will be equivalent to working in industry and will impact directly on the courses the applicant teaches.

For example, Fellowships have been approved to a hospital where mechanical engineering techniques were applied to the treatment of spinal injury patients, and to a local authority for work in the area of environmental engineering. Fellowships to universities are not accepted.

Yes, if it can be demonstrated that this will provide added value to the Fellowship. Final approval is with the Steering Group.

Unfortunately, no. The Academy does not get involved in post-award negotiations related to the award values and any travel and other expenses should have been accurately assessed at the time of your application.

If you are looking to hold your fellowship for more than one year (e.g. two years full-time/part-time), you must enter the full amount you wish to apply for which covers the entire duration of your fellowship (under the salary contribution section). Not the annual figure.

For example, if you wish to apply for a £30k per annum salary contribution and you wish to hold your fellowship for two years full-time, you must enter £60k in the salary contribution section of the application (this is calculated as the salary contribution x length of fellowship). This applies to whatever amount you wish to apply for up to a maximum of £50,000 per annum (or up to £100,000 in total for fellowships over 1 year).

Please be reminded that the salary contribution is calculated as the basic salary (excluding overheads) paid pro-rata against the time to be spent on the industrial fellowship at the host. You must do this calculation yourself and enter the correct calculated amount into your online application.

For example, if you are planning on holding a 50% part-time fellowship for one year or less, and your salary is £50k, you must enter £25k into the salary contribution section of the application. The same calculation explained in the last point would apply if the duration of your part-time fellowship were to exceed one year.

Please note that although fellowships can be held for up to two years full/part-time, the Academy will only contribute up to a maximum of £100,000 for any fellowship which exceeds 1 year in duration (or up to a maximum of £50,000 per annum).