World Changers Together

The Glasgow Engineering Futures Fellowships are five-year fellowships designed to support underrepresented groups in Engineering to develop their independent academic careers. This round is focused on female early-career academics. The goal is to develop representative research leadership in engineering research and create a more inclusive academic environment within the James Watt School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow.

Eligible applicants must:

• Be female with a PhD in a relevant area.
• Have at least two years of postdoctoral research experience (or industry equivalent).
• Demonstrate potential for independent research leadership, and teaching excellence.

A proportion of the fellowships in our next round will be open to all applicants recognising the diverse range of lived experiences that impact early career academics in engineering. 

We recognise the diverse range of lived experiences that impact early career academics in engineering. The Glasgow Engineering Futures Fellowship scheme will include a subsequent phase, expected to open August 2025, where a proportion of fellowships will be open to applicants of all sexes and gender identities.

We are defining Early Career Academic (ECA) as applicants at an early stage in their academic career embarking on their own independent research. You may be developing your independent research portfolio, sharing your research, developing and submitting your first independent research funding applications and cultivating your research niche. We welcome applicants who may, for example, have had career breaks or a non-linear academic career.

These fellowships focus on strategic priority research areas within the James Watt School of Engineering: quantum/nanotechnology, healthcare technologies, connecting people/communication, and net-zero solutions, and applicants research must align with one of the five research divisions within the School – Infrastructure & Environment, Biomedical Engineering, Systems, Power & Energy, Autonomous Systems & Connectivity; and Electronics & Nanoscale Engineering.

The fellowship offers a comprehensive support package, including:

• A five-year appointment at Grade 8
• £75,000 in research funds over five years.
• A PhD Studentship (UK national funding).
• Career development fund to support leadership training, one-on-one coaching, networking, careers support to attend conferences and meetings
• A mentor in a similar research field and a lived experience mentor as appropriate

Explore the support you will receive as a GEF Fellow.

We expect to recruit three fellows in the first round.  A further two fellows will be recruited in a subsequent round.

Research: Fellows are expected to lead an independent research program, secure external funding, disseminate their research through a range of outputs including publications, and supervise doctoral researchers.

Teaching and Supervision: Fellows will contribute to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. Teaching will be reduced initially and increase gradually. They will also supervise undergraduate and masters projects and complete the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice.

Leadership: Fellows will coordinate research projects and contribute to the visibility of Glasgow Engineering Futures Fellows.

Applicants must complete and submit a Pro-Forma together with an academic CV no longer than 3 pages via the HR portal.  Please note that the application portal will not open until the 13th January and applications cannot be made before this. Applicants may wish to start preparing their application and contact the appropriate Head of Research Division to discuss their research vision and fit. The portal will close to applications on 9th February.

GEFF Application Guidance

GEFF Application Pro-Forma

Applicants will be longlisted and invited for stage one online interview. Following this, shortlisted applicants will be invited for stage two in person interviews. Stage two interviews will include a presentation on your Research and Teaching Vision for the fellowship, followed by structured panel interview. On this day, there will be an opportunity for interviewees to be shown around the school and research division to which they are applying.

Fellows will contribute to teaching, with a gradually increasing load over the period of the fellowship. In the first two years, teaching will be limited to 10 ECTS, increasing to no more than 20 ECTS from years three to five. Fellows must complete their PGCert in Academic Practice (PGCAP), unless they have an equivalent qualification.

It is anticipated that following a successful interview at the end of year three, Fellows will be in a strong position to transition to an open-ended post.  Additional planned growth across the School over the next five years will also create open-ended opportunities that will be open to GEFFs to apply to at any stage of the fellowship.  

The application portal will be open from the 13^th of January 2025 and will close on the 9^th February 2025. Applications will be reviewed and longlisted applicants will be invited to stage one online interviews which will be held at the beginning of March. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to in-person Stage 2 interviews at the beginning of April.

All longlisted (Stage 1) and shortlisted applicants (Stage 2) will receive feedback; however, we regret that we are not able to provide feedback to applicants who do not progress to interview stage.

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