Wellcome Early-Career Awards 2025 for Researchers in UK, Ireland & Developing countries. Apply below.
1st October 2024, 17:00 BST
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This scheme provides funding for early-career researchers from any discipline who are ready to develop their research identity. Through innovative projects, they will deliver shifts in understanding that could improve human life, health and wellbeing. By the end of the award, they will be ready to lead their own independent research programme.
Grants
You can apply to this scheme if you are an early-career researcher and you are ready to design, plan and deliver your own innovative research project that aims to:
and/or
During the award, we expect you to:
Your research can be in any discipline – including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), experimental medicine, humanities and social science, clinical/allied health sciences, and public health – as long as it has the potential to improve human life, health and wellbeing, and aligns with our funding remit.
At the point you submit your application, you must have completed a substantive period of research training relevant to your discipline.
You must have:
or
You can apply if you hold a permanent, open-ended or long term rolling contract and are based in a low- or middle-income country. All other eligibility criteria apply.
You may also have some postdoctoral experience in your proposed field of study, but no more than three years unless you can demonstrate how other factors have impacted on your research career. When we review how much postdoctoral experience you have, we will allow for part-time work, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, career breaks (for example, parental leave or long-term sick leave) and other significant amounts of time spent outside research (for example, clinical training).
We will also consider whether you have changed research discipline. For example, moving from astrophysics to computational neuroscience. There may be some crossover, such as in research sites or techniques, but the shift should still be a significant change.
We consider postdoctoral experience as any periods spent in research after you passed your PhD/higher research degree viva.
You should be able to demonstrate:
You should not need close supervision to complete your proposed research, although you may need training in new techniques and experimental approaches.
If you are a health professional and you want to continue with clinical activities, you must be registered with, and be licensed by, the relevant professional regulator in the country you intend to work in. Read our Q&As for health professionals.
You must be able to contribute at least 80% of your research time in support of the project proposed in the award. You should not spend more than 20% of your time on non-research related activities, for example clinical duties, teaching or administration. If you’re based in a clinical craft specialty, you may spend up to 40% of your time on clinical duties.
By the end of the award, you should have the research maturity to develop, manage and lead your own creative, independent research programme.
If you decide not to pursue a career in research, you’ll have transferable skills that you can use in roles related to research or outside of research, for example in industry or teaching.
You must have sponsorship from an eligible host organisation in one of the following:
It can be a:
You should choose a research environment that provides you with the appropriate training, resources and experience to deliver your project and develop your research skills and identity. We encourage you to move away from your current research environment. This may mean moving from your group or department, but it is not essential to move organisations.
You can apply if you’ve spent time away from research (for example a career break, maternity leave, or long-term sick leave). We’ll allow for this when we consider your application.
Depending on your previous career stage and the level of supervision and retraining you need now, you may also want to consider a Career Development Award.
We will review your research proposal, skills and experience, and research environment.
To be competitive, your research proposal will be:
We will review:
We will review:
Who can’t apply
You are not eligible to apply if:
You cannot apply if you intend to carry out activities that involve the transfer of grant funds into mainland China.
UK, Republic of Ireland, Low- or middle-income countries (apart from India and mainland China
UK, Republic of Ireland, Low- or middle-income countries (apart from India and mainland China)
Not specified
Your salary and up to £400,000 for research expenses. If eligible, you may also request additional funding for overseas allowances and overheads.
Usually 5 years, but may be less for some disciplines, and may only be longer if held on a part-time basis.
Visit Award Webpage for Details
This post was last modified on July 31, 2024 11:11 am