Royal Academy Of Engineering Research Fellowship 2022 - 2023

Know All About The Royal Academy Of Engineering Research Fellowship 2022 - 2023

The Royal Academy of Engineering is a pioneering national academy that works toward a sustainable tomorrow with the help of highly-skilled engineers and accomplished entrepreneurs from the field of technology. The Academy offers fellowship opportunities to engineering researchers, business and industry leaders, and entrepreneurs who excel in their fields. 

The Research Fellowship is specifically designed for budding researchers to help them with their engineering pursuits to become internationally accredited engineering research leaders. In this article, we have gathered all the essential details regarding the research fellowship and how you can acquire one of the most coveted research fellow positions at the Royal Academy of Engineering. 

What Is The Royal Academy Of Engineering Research Fellowship? 

The research fellowships at the Royal Academy of Engineering support exceptional researchers to become world leaders in the field of engineering. The Academy offers the fellowship every year to help budding researchers across the world who gained their doctorates not more than four years ago. 

The Academy constitutes around 1,700 fellows in every field hailing from various countries. Every year, the Academy takes on close to 50 new fellows. 

Objectives Of The Fellowship

The objectives of the fellowship include the following points: 

• It will provide extended support to the engineering research program and bring a strong impact through innovations. 
• It will create ambassadors to promote the Academy’s work. It will also develop advocates who support the disciplines of mathematics, engineering, technology, and science. 
• It will provide support to highly qualified new researchers to become independent and gain international recognition. 

Benefits Of The Research Fellowship At The Royal Academy Of Research

The research fellowship offers the following benefits to the fellows: 

• Every fellow gets a maximum contribution of £625,000 from the Academy for five years. It amounts to 80% of the full economic costs of the project. 
• The Academy will provide mentoring support to the fellows. The mentors will advise the fellows regarding research and career development. 
• The fellows will get an opportunity to make demonstrate a track record in research. They also prove their competence in applying for additional funding and expanding their research team. 
• During the fellowship period, the fellows can dedicate more time to research as their teaching, and administrative duties will be capped. 
• The fellows can get training and additional funding opportunities. 
• They will also receive networking and collaboration opportunities with other Academy and Research Fellows. 

Engineering For Development Research Fellowships At The Royal Academy Of Engineering

The Royal Academy of Engineering offers two research fellowship schemes. The Research Fellowship is the one we discussed above. The other is the Engineering for development research fellowships (EDRF). The EDRF scheme intends to assist in the research of sustainable development strategies in low and middle-income countries. 

The fellow offers the same benefits as the research fellowship mentioned above. It also has the same application and selection procedures. However, applicants must include the following points in their application form when applying for EDR fellowships. 

• The applicants must demonstrate the positive impacts or contributions of their research in bringing sustainable development to the economy or society or the welfare of the country/countries. 
• The applicants must establish the way of implementing the research outcomes in the low or low-middle income country/countries. They should also show how it will contribute to the countries’ sustainable development. 
• The applicants must demonstrate that their research outlines the ways to address certain development requirements of the low or low-middle income country/countries. 

List Of Engineering Categories For The Research Project 

Applicants must choose a research project from the following engineering categories. If the research category fits into several of the following, applicants must choose the most relevant ones in their application form. 

• Aerospace engineering 
• Chemical and process engineering 
• Civil, construction, and environmental engineering 
• Computing and communications engineering 
• Electrical and electronic engineering 
• Energy and power engineering 
• Manufacturing and design engineering 
• Materials and mining engineering 
• Medical and bioengineering engineering 
• Transport and mechanical engineering 

Essential Requirements To Apply For the Research Fellowships At The Royal Academy of Engineering 

To become eligible for the fellowships, candidates must fulfill certain criteria prescribed by the Academy. The eligibility criteria include the following points. 

• Several institutions cannot jointly host the research fellowships. 
• The applicants must propose their research projects in the engineering fields. 
• The host institution must make provisions to provide the research fellow with all the necessary support that a normal employee gets at their institution. 
• The applicants must have an awarded Ph.D. or an unconditionally approved Ph.D. no more than four years old at the time of the application deadline. 
• The Academy allows a margin of three months after the four years. If the applicant had a specific reason for a gap of more than four years, they could provide the relevant proof to get consideration. 
• The applicant must devote their entire working time to the research fellowship at the host institution. They should not have any other employment during the duration of the fellowship. 
• The applicant must work 50% of the research fellowship at the host institution. If they have to work more than 50% of the research fellowship out of the host institution, they must provide the relevant explanation in the application form under the choice of the host institution. 
• Applicants must acquire the relevant approval from the host institution directly before submitting the fellowship application. 
• The host institution must acquire all the relevant work permits and finance the related costs for the research fellow. 
• Applicants must begin the research fellowship between 1st August 2023 and 31st October 2023. 
• The applicants must complete the research fellowship in a five-year full-time scheme. The Academy does not allow shorter durations than the specified one. The Academy calculates part-time fellowships on a pro-rata basis. 

How To Apply For The Research Fellowships At The Royal Academy of Engineering 

Interested candidates can apply for the research fellowship by submitting their application via the online Grant Management System (GMS) of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Applicants must register themselves by providing log-in details at the GMS. Once registered, applicants can proceed to fill out the application by selecting Research Fellowship. The form has six sections where you need to provide the following details: 

Details Of The Applicant and Institution

This section includes the name of the applicant, contact details, and information regarding the host institution where the applicant intends to begin the research fellowship. The applicant should also indicate the scheme of the fellowship, whether it is Research Fellowship or Engineering for Development Research Fellowship. 

Applicant Profile

Under the applicant profile, candidates have to highlight the details regarding their suitability and eligibility for the fellowship. Here, the applicant needs to establish their skills and experience by answering general questions and uploading their CV. Candidates must ensure that the CV does not contain their gender, nationality, and date of birth. They should upload it as a single PDF file of less than 5MB.

Details Regarding The Project

The project details of the applicant must contain the project title, brief description or abstract, start date, subject category, keywords relating to the project, and a list of external organizations with which the applicant will be collaborating. The project title should contain 10 or fewer words and must be understandable by non-specialists as well. The abstract should contain no more than 300 words and describe the project in an easy-to-understand language. 

Case For Support 

Here, the applicant must explain all the details regarding their research project and should highlight its importance and relevance in bringing sustainable development. Applicants must ensure that the project is original and compelling. They should highlight the methodology and how they intend to manage the project. The applicants must also ensure that their project aligns with the Academy's strategic aims. Their project's aim should align with either a sustainable society or an inclusive economy, or both. 

Requested Resources

Applicants must prepare a cost table by consulting the host institution. The host institution must justify the requested resources and ensure that it will deliver the research project proposed in the application. The requested resource must not exceed the limit allotted by the Academy, which is £625,000. 

Statement Of Support And Declaration

Applicants must provide a letter of support from the host institution stating the quality, potential, and overall suitability for the fellowship. The letter should also mention the support and commitment of the institution to the research project. The host institution must also provide a declaration letter that the applicant needs to upload in the application form. The applicant also needs to provide a declaration at the end of the application form before submission. 

Selection Process For The Research Fellowship Schemes

The selection criteria for the research fellowship involve three stages. These are as follows: 

Stage 1: General Review, where three reviewers go through the applications. The reviewers are academy fellows or former research fellows. According to the comments and scores of the reviews, the sift panel will conduct moderation reviews before passing the selected application to the second stage. Candidates will learn about the stage 1 result after 16th December 2022. 

Stage 2: Expert Review includes three reviewers who provide the comments and scores. They will also ask technical questions, if applicable, that the applicant needs to clarify. Once complete, a shortlist panel will sort strong applications for the third stage. Applicants will learn about the outcome after 28th April 2023. 

Stage 3: The Interview of the shortlisted candidate will take place either at the Academy in London or online. Four Academy fellows will conduct a 30-minute interview of each candidate. After the interview, the panel will rank the strongest candidate and select them for the fellowship. Applicants must note that all prior rankings have no relevance at the interview stage. The panel will rank the applicants depending on the interview. 

Assessment Criteria For The Research Fellowship 

The assessment of the applications for selection by the reviews involves the following assessment criteria:

• Research track record of the applicant and their quality. 
• Applicants’ potential to become leaders of tomorrow in their field. 
• The ability of the applicant to become an advocate and ambassador for engineering research. 
• The research vision of the applicant and the ability to work independently in the research career of their field. 
• The proposed research project’s quality includes vision, ambition, and novelty that can be achieved in the five-year duration of the project. 
• Quality of the research environment that the host institution provides for the project. 
• Quality and the level of support and commitment offered by the host institution towards the research project and the applicant’s career development. 
• Level of support and commitment, and quality provided by collaborators. 
• Effectiveness in the proposed planning and managing of resources for the project. 
• Impact and benefit of the proposed project to beneficiaries. 
• The potential to transfer the research outcomes to bring a positive impact on society and the economy.

Important Points To Remember

Applicants of EDRFs should use standard international evidence about income and development status to support their research proposals. 

• Research Fellowship and EDRFs provide funding for five years. 
• Selected candidates must complete the research fellowship at a UK research organization, UK higher education institute, or university that is eligible for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding. Applicants who applied and couldn’t get the fellowship before can reapply as new candidates. 
• The Academy accepts applications from every country across the globe. There is no age limit to applying for the fellowships. 
• Only a limited number of applicants get the fellowship in a particular year. 
• Applicants must comply with the guidelines to get accepted. 
• Applicants cannot edit or update submitted applications. 
• The application form will require around two hours to complete if the applicant has already prepared all the answers. Otherwise, the application form will need a significant amount of time to complete. 
• It is recommended that candidates go through the application form and prepare all the answers beforehand to avoid mistakes and spending too much time on the form. 
• Once the selection process is complete, the Academy will sign the contract directly with the host institution. The Academy will pay the research fellowship grant directly to the host institution. 
• The Academy will identify an Academy fellow for each candidate to be their mentor who will support and advise regarding the research project and career development. 
• Research fellows need to submit a progress report at the end of each year. Mentors and academy representatives will meet annually to discuss the report, progress, and plans for the future. 

Deadline For the Research Fellowship At The Royal Academy of Engineering

The online application system for 2022-23 began in June 2022 and is currently open. Candidates can submit their applications by 4 pm on 20th September 2022. 

Wrapping Up

The Research Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Engineering offers budding researchers an opportunity to create innovative strategies that can positively transform society and the economy. The two schemes under the research fellowship can help in bringing ingenious research into the field of engineering and its implementation in society and the economy. 

In this article, we discussed the eligibility criteria, application procedure, and selection process for the research fellowship schemes at the Royal Academy of Engineering. Assessment criteria for EDRF have additional points. More details regarding the fellowship schemes can be found on the website of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

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