Deadline: September 17, 2025

The Royal Academy of Engineering offers Research Fellowships each year to outstanding early-career researchers to support them to become future research leaders in engineering. The scheme’s objectives are to:

• support the best early-career researchers in establishing their independence and international reputation
• provide long-term support enabling the pursuit of an ambitious programme of engineering research and impact
• develop ambassadors for the Academy and advocates for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines

The Academy welcomes applications from early-career researchers worldwide who have been awarded their PhD in the last four years. The scheme is funded by the Department for  Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) and provides funding for five years. Additionally, the UK-based medical charity, Rosetrees, has co-funded two awardees from our previous cohorts. Research Fellowships must be held at a UK higher education institution/university or at a UK research organisation eligible to receive UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding.

Benefits

• Each application is capped at a maximum contribution from the Academy of £625,000 over the five years, at 80% of full economic costs.
• Mentoring support from an Academy Fellow to offer advice on research and career development.
• Reduction of teaching and administrative duties to dedicate time to research.
• Training and additional funding opportunities.
• Networking opportunities with other Research Fellows and Academy Fellows.
• An opportunity to establish a strong research track record which will improve the chances of securing additional funding and expanding their own research teams.
• Be part of the RAEng Awardee Excellence Community.

Eligibility

• Research Fellowships must be held at one of the following eligible institutions that can show it is capable of fully supporting an engineering-focused research project and researcher:

a UK higher education institution/university or

a UK research organisation that is eligible to receive UKRI funding.

• The host institution must agree to provide the Research Fellow all the support normal for a permanent employee.
• The proposed research project must be in an engineering subject area. Engineering is defined in its broadest sense, encompassing a wide range of diverse fields.
• Research Fellowships are aimed at early-career researchers. Applicants must have a PhD, which was awarded (or the PhD has been unconditionally approved) no more than four years before the submission deadline: Wednesday, 17 September 2025. This period includes applicants’ work experience in academia and/or in the industry in the UK/or worldwide. A margin of up to three months more than the four-year limit is acceptable. If applicants have had maternity/paternity leave or other extenuating circumstances (e.g, extended sick leave, national service, caring responsibilities, and relocation due to fear of persecution or human rights violation), this will be taken into consideration if the relevant dates and details are provided in the application form.
• Previously Research Fellowships could be held part-time time but must have been the only form of employment, however, from round 25, this requirement has been removed. The part-time requirement is limited to a minimum of 50% of the fellowship time. The other source of employment should be external to the host organisation, such as industry, government, or other stakeholders. The request for a part-time Research Fellowship (at no less than 50% of full-time equivalent) must be clearly stated within the application. Alternatively, the Research Fellowship can be converted from full-time to part-time, or from part-time to full-time, during the fellowship, assuming the host institution supports the request. 
• There are no nationality and age restrictions for applicants. The host institution is responsible for securing all necessary work permits and related costs for the Research Fellows.
• Applicants who have applied to this scheme before and were unsuccessful are eligible to reapply. These applications will be considered new applications.
• Research Fellowships must begin between 1 August 2026 and 31 October 2026. The duration of a Research Fellowship is five years full-time, calculated on a pro-rata basis for part-time awards. Requests for a shorter Research Fellowship are not accepted.
• There is a limit on the number of applications each host institution can submit.

Application

• All applications must be submitted via the Academy’s online grants system available here: https://grants.raeng.org.uk. All applicants must first register and provide some basic login details to create a profile.
• The application should be submitted by the applicant. They recommend leaving plenty of time to complete the application form ahead of the deadline and thoroughly going through your application before submission. While the guidance notes are embedded within the system itself, they recommend you keep this document to hand when completing the application form.
• The application form has eight sections and should take approximately two hours to complete, assuming you have answered the questions offline and merely need to enter the information rather than compose it. To compose the application in its entirety will take significantly longer.
• Many of the questions have prescribed word limits, which are designed to keep answers focused and give applicants an indication of the level of detail required. In such cases, the number of words used will be displayed beneath the question and updated in real time.
• Applicants can download a PDF of their application after submission, which is recommended for reference. There is only one application stage, and those meeting the eligibility criteria will enter the assessment stages.

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To apply, click here