Please note, the call for applications to the 6th round of the UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowships is now CLOSED. UKRI has not announced if it will re-launch this scheme for additional rounds. For reference, the information for Round 6 is below.

UKRI FLF - Round 6

UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowships are an exciting new opportunity to join Imperial. This scheme intends to grow the strong supply of talented individuals needed to ensure that UK research and innovation continues to be world class. These Fellowships support applicants from diverse career paths, including those returning from a career break or following time in other roles. The objectives of the scheme are:

• to develop, retain, attract and sustain research and innovation talent in the UK
• to foster new research and innovation career paths including those at the academic/business and interdisciplinary boundaries, and facilitate movement of people between sectors
• to provide sustained funding and resources for the best early career researchers and innovators
• to provide long-term, flexible funding to tackle difficult and novel challenges, and support adventurous, ambitious programmes.

 Applications to UKRI where the fellowship is intended to be held at Imperial must be made via the College to ensure you have approved support from the proposed host Department.

More information about this fellowship can be found on the UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowships webpage

Who can apply

This cross-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) scheme will support early career researchers and innovators with outstanding potential in universities, UK registered businesses, and other research and user environments including research councils' institutes and laboratories.

The FLF scheme welcomes applications from both UK and international applicants, individuals should view the UKRI's person specification (pdf) to assess and justify their suitability for the scheme. The support of the institution is a critical component of all fellowships which will enable the fellow to transition to or establish their research/innovation independence in any area supported by UKRI.

Holding a FLF at Imperial

At Imperial we are using an open selection process to identify individuals the College is willing to  support in applying to this funding opportunity from UKRI. All interested candidates, both external and internal, must submit a Request for Support (doc) form , which will be shared with the relevant department to consider. Applicants will be contacted directly by the relevant academic department in order to establish the level of support available.

The College is a proud signatory to the San-Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), which means that in hiring, promotion and research funding decisions we will evaluate applicants on the quality of their work, not the impact factor of the journal where it is published. More information is available on the research evaluation webpage.

How to apply

1. Contact your Department of interest for initial discussions (some Departments have specific strategic research areas they want to recruit in - see the sections below for details)
2. Request for Support form (doc). Please ensure to include a statement of how your research aligns to your department of choice within Section 3 - Host.
3. Send your completed form to researchfellowships@imperial.ac.uk by Monday 2 November, midday
4. Completed application forms will be shared with the relevant departments for consideration
5. Applicants will be contacted by departments to discuss their request for support

Imperial Departments

UKRI view it positively when the host institution makes clear statements about how the candidate may fit into their strategic vision/commitment to the specific research area. To facilitate this, individuals interested in applying for a FLF hosted at Imperial should initially approach their department of interest to ensure their research aligns to its strategic aims. Some departments have also declared particular areas in which they would be willing to host a fellow.

Business School

The Business School (Departments of Finance, Economics and Public Policy, Management & Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Operations) is willing to accept enquiries related to all relevant research areas (General contact - David Wilson)