Royal Society Long Industry Fellowships September 2023

The Industry Fellowships scheme is currently open to applications and will close at 3pm on Thursday 28 September 2023. These secondments support the researcher’s development, foster exchange of knowledge, stimulate longer-term collaborations, and establish personal, scientific and corporate links between sectors.

• Industry Fellowship FAQs (PDF, 137.9kb)
• Industry_Fellowships_scheme_notes (PDF, 307.7kb)
• Royal Society Conditions of Award (PDF, 238.8kb)

The Industry Fellowship is part of the Royal Society’s wider Science and Industry Programme which strives to promote the value and importance of science by connecting academia, industry and government.

The Industry Fellowship scheme is open to academic and industrial researchers from early to senior career stages based in the UK (see below and in the scheme notes for for eligibility information). The aims of the scheme are to:

• Support the mobility of excellent academic or industrial researchers between in two sectors in the UK, across the natural sciences.
• Enable the Industry Fellow to develop and establish collaborative links between the academic and industrial organisations, which may lead to longer term collaborations.
• Support the career development of the Industry Fellow, and their team, through the cross-sector collaborative research experience afforded by the fellowship.
• Enhance knowledge exchange in science and technology between industry and academia.

The scheme provides a basic salary for the researcher and a contribution towards research costs. Awards can be for any period up to two years full-time or a maximum of four years pro rata, i.e. an award could be held at 50% part-time for four years enabling fellows to maintain links with their employing institution more easily.

For shorter term collaborative projects between industry and academia, see the Short Industry Fellowship.

Research must be within the Royal Society’s remit of natural sciences, which includes but is not limited to biological research, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics. For a full list, please see the breakdown of subject groups and areas supported by the Royal Society.

Am I eligible to apply?

You can apply for this scheme if you:

• have a PhD or are of equivalent standing in your profession
• hold a permanent post or have an ‘open-ended contract’ in either a university, not-for-profit research organisation or industry in the UK
• are at a stage in your career when you would particularly benefit from establishing or strengthening personal or corporate links between academia and industry as a foundation for long-term collaboration and development

We actively seek applications from underrepresented groups to increase the diversity of our grant holders with a focus on improved gender balance, greater representation from BAME groups and wider UK institutional reach.

What is the scheme’s value and tenure?

The scheme provides the applicant’s basic salary while on secondment. The employing organisation continue to pay national insurance and pension contributions.

Research expenses may be claimed up to the value of £4,000 per year, and may be used to support summer studentships at £2,000 per year. The summer studentship allows a student to work on an industrially relevant research project under the award holder’s supervision and in collaboration with the host organisation. At the end of their projects, students are invited to present their work at the annual Industry Fellows Networking event held at the Royal Society.

The Society can provide financial support to research fellows for any additional care costs that arise when attending conferences, collaborative research visits or invited talks directly related to their fellowship. These requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.