Researchers working in any field within the remit of one or more of the UK national academies (the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society) can apply. This includes the natural sciences (including physics and chemistry), mathematics, computer science, engineering, agricultural, biological and medical research, social science, humanities, the scientific aspects of archaeology, geography, experimental psychology and clinical or patient-oriented research. 

Proposed networks can be newly constructed or can build on an existing network, but the topic they are focusing on must be new and aligned with one of the following themes: 

• Artificial intelligence and health 
• Climate and health
• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and health systems resilience

The themes are intended to be broad and examples of topics that could be addressed are detailed in the guidance notes.

Maximum award: £30,000

Closing date: 13 November 26

UK higher education and TVET organisations can apply for grant for a UK-South Africa consortium to deliver a pilot of the new Green and Digital Employability and Enterprise programme (GDEEp) in South Africa.

The consortium will include: 

• one UK higher education or TVET/further education institution as the UK Lead Partner
• one South African TVET college and one South African university (one of which must be the South African lead partner); 
• one or more relevant South African industry partners.

The purpose of this grant call is to select one co-led South Africa: UK tertiary education and industry consortium to design and deliver the student-facing, institutional and industry-facing components of the GDEEP pilot.

The selected consortium will deliver an integrated pilot that supports a minimum of 50 current South African TVET and university students to build green-digital skills, strengthen entrepreneurship pathways, gain direct industry exposure, benefit from strengthened industry: tertiary education partnerships, and contribute to institutional embedding and sustainability of new approaches to teaching and learning and student support. 

The grant is intended to facilitate delivery of the 5 components by one coherent consortium. Applicants should therefore propose a realistic, focused and high-quality pilot model that can be delivered within the available budget and timeline. 

This grant is not intended to fund a broad research, mapping or scoping exercise. Existing employability evidence, institutional knowledge and market insights should inform the design, but the main focus must be practical implementation.

Maximum award: £150,000

Closing date: 17 November 2026

This fellowship encourages researchers to come to Oxford and use resources collected by the Bodleian Libraries from any place or period to research the histories of the South Asian, African and Caribbean diasporas. Fellows will normally be invited during a University of Oxford term. The fellowship is offered in association with Somerville College.

Maximum award: up to £2,200 per month

Closing date: 27 November 2026

The Smuts Management Committee invites applications for a non-renewable Smuts Visiting Research Fellowship in Commonwealth Studies, tenable for 9 months commencing from 1st October 2027.

The Smuts Memorial Fund usually elects one Smuts Visiting Research Fellow a year to come to Cambridge to carry out research for up to 9 months. These Fellowships are intended for mid- to senior career academics, of international calibre in an institutional position and who received their PhD at least five years prior to the application closing date.

Fellows may come from any nationality, but should be normally resident outside the United Kingdom, and a wide variety of disciplines in the social sciences, arts and humanities. They are expected to advance Commonwealth Studies in Cambridge mainly by pursuing research, but also by taking part in seminars and similar activities within the University. During the tenure of their Fellowship, Fellows are required to deliver at least one public lecture in Cambridge arranged in consultation with the Managers of the Smuts Memorial Fund.

Commonwealth Studies is defined here as research that is focused on past or present countries and/or issues pertaining to one or more parts of the Commonwealth. Fellows will have access, by agreement, to the holdings of Faculty and Departmental libraries, to the libraries of the Centres of African Studies and South Asian Studies and to the University Library, which houses the extensive collection of materials relating to the history of the British Empire and Commonwealth, formerly housed in the Royal Commonwealth Society Library in London.

The Managers expect that the person appointed would be intending to come to Cambridge to work on a project that builds on existing research for which a period of residence in Cambridge is demonstrably appropriate, although they would not rule out a new piece of work that is expected to be completed by the end of the 9-month tenure of the Fellowship.

Closing date: 11 December 2026

The Royal Society invites nominations for the Wolfson fellowship. The objectives of the fellowships are to enable UK universities and research institutions to strategically recruit and attract outstanding research leaders to the UK from overseas by offering long-term support and flexible funding to conduct high-quality research; strengthen research and help build a critical mass of excellence in the UK’s best university departments and research institutions in fields considered to be strategically important by the institution.

Maximum award: £300,000

Closing date: 28 February 2027

This scheme provides funding for established researchers and teams from any discipline who want to pursue bold and creative research ideas to deliver significant shifts in understanding that could improve human life, health and wellbeing.

Maximum award: The average size of a Discovery Award is £3.5 million. Applications above £5 million will be subject to additional scrutiny.

Closing date: No deadline