Royal Society Industry Fellowship Scheme (Round 2) – UK

Such secondments support the development of the researcher, as well as fostering exchange of knowledge, longer-term collaborations, and the establishment of personal, scientific, and corporate links between sectors. 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.

Aims

• The aims of the scheme are to:
  • Support mobility of excellent academic or industry researchers between the two sectors in the UK, across the natural sciences.
  • Enable the award holder to develop and establish new collaborative links between the academic and industry 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.

Funding Information

• Applicants are permitted to apply for up to £168,000. This is a maximum value over the award period (i.e. the total contribution requested from the Society may not exceed £168,000).
• Funding can cover:
  • The industry fellow’s basic salary for the duration of the secondment, as such the employing institution should continue to pay national insurance and pension contributions for the industry fellow.
  • Up to £4,000 per year in research expenses to support essential consumables, travel and accommodation costs incurred during the collaborative project between the partner and the host/employing organisations
• Included in the research expenses allowance of up to £4000 per annum, applicants can also request a contribution towards a summer studentship.
• Approximate number of Fellowships offered: 4
• Fellowships are expected to commence between 1 st January 2026 and 31st March 2026.
• Fellowships can be held for any period up to two years full-time, or pro rata, i.e. could be held at 50% parttime for up to four years.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants can be of any nationality and should be at a stage in their career when they would particularly benefit from establishing or strengthening personal and corporate links between the two sectors.
• Applicants must also hold:
  • A PhD or be of equivalent standing in their profession.
  • A permanent post or have an ‘open-ended contract’ in either a UK university, a not-for-profit research organisation or UK industry.
• These fellowships are aimed at supporting new collaborations between academic and industry organisations. If you are applying to support an ongoing collaboration with an industry partner or UK University or not-forprofit research organisation you will be required to submit a new project involving a different university/industry department.
• Applicants cannot have concurrent applications detailing similar projects submitted to both the Royal Society Industry Fellowship and the Royal Society Short Industry Fellowship rounds at the same time. However, former Short Industry Fellowship holders are encouraged to apply to the Royal Society Industry Fellowship scheme if seeking to build longer-term collaborations.
• Applicants should not be a representative on the board of the Industrial Partner, whether the Industrial Partner is the Current Employer or the Partner Organisation. If the applicant owns more than or equal to a 25% share in the company associated with the application, the applicant will not be eligible to apply with this industrial partner/host.

Application Requirements

• The supporting document must include:
  • The number of employees in the company
  • Gross annual turnover and balance sheet
  • The company’s registration number on Companies House and the year it was registered
  • The capacity to support research activities, including details of the facilities available and the number of active research staff
  • The company is not funded by public money
  • The support that will be provided to the candidate during the fellowship.

For more information, visit The Royal Society.