Future Leaders Fellowship - UKRI (Round 11)

Location: Swansea, UK

Closing Date: 10:00, 16^th January 2026

Swansea University is looking to attract emerging and exceptional talent in various exciting research areas. UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellowship Round 11 will open in February 2026 and Swansea University is keen to host and support external candidates with their applications. The fellowship offers long-term, flexible support, including the fellow's salary and research, staff and training costs, plus the opportunity of a permanent academic position on successful completion of the fellowship. 

Individuals should initially check their research aligns with the Research and Innovation Strategy and the research ambitions of the Faculties.

The Fellowship Offers:

• Investment to support fellows over four years, with the opportunity to extend to up to seven years on a 4 (+3) model
• Support for applicants from diverse career paths (including those returning from a career break or changing roles)

Swansea University will offer substantial support to successful applicants including:

• A bespoke package of support tailored to you and your project
• Mentoring and Support from Faculty and Professional Services throughout the development of your of your proposal
• A career pathway to a permanent Senior Lecturer post at the end of the Fellowship
• Ongoing mentoring and career development coaching throughout the lifetime of your Fellowship

Due to the extremely competitive nature of these fellowships and a cap on the number of full stage applications that can be submitted per institution, the University is running a call for Expressions of Interest.

Clinical future leaders - UKRI have announced that for this round they are strengthening support for doctors, dentists and other health and care professionals. This will enable them to pursue research careers alongside their clinical practice, particularly in academia where career pathways can be fragmented. For more details see - MRC, NIHR and CRUK enhance support for clinical research leaders – UKRI

We anticipate that Swansea University will be able to submit an additional 1 application specifically as Clinical FLF (CFLF), meaning our round 11 cap is anticipated to be 3 +1 (4).

We welcome EOIs from clinical researchers.

Applicants must have support from the proposed host department, to be evidenced through a fellowship advocate statement as part of the EOI application form.

We particularly welcome expressions of interest from researchers currently working within other sectors who are looking to make the transition to academia.

Eligibility:

These fellowships are for early career academics and innovators who are transitioning to or establishing independence. Please use the Person Specification in the guidance to assess your suitability for the scheme in line with programme objectives.

 Applicants are expected to:

• hold a doctorate by the start date of the fellowship OR demonstrate equivalent research/innovation experience.
• There are no eligibility rules based on years since PhD or whether the applicant currently holds an open-ended academic position or job
• Individuals who currently hold a permanent position should:
  1. Show that their current position does not demonstrate that they have achieved research/innovation independence and thought leadership
  2. Provide a clear rationale why an FLF would be different to their current role
  3. Evidence that all their working time costed to the fellowship would be dedicated to that fellowship to focus on research/innovation, shielded from other professional commitments
  4. Demonstrate that an FLF would be the best way to support their long-term career goals and chosen career route

Applicants who have already achieved research independence will not be competitive. Senior academics and innovators are not permitted to apply.

How to Apply:

CLICK THE ‘APPLY’ BUTTON WHICH WILL TAKE YOU TO THE EOI PAGE.

An open and inclusive selection process will be employed to support the best candidates to the full application stage (based on draft EOI, CV & outputs). We will ensure that all applicants, irrespective of race, gender or ability are given full support throughout the application process.

The FLF EOI selection process has been an excellent way for Swansea University to identify exceptional talent for not only the FLF programme, but other similarly competitive and prestigious awards. We have increasingly used the FLF internal selection process to identify talent for other schemes and fully expect to do so again during the forthcoming FLF selection process. We’ve seen positive outcomes for candidates in many cases where we have taken this approach.
 
 Please bear in mind, that in submitting an EOI, we may offer you the opportunity to apply for alternative or additional schemes, should they be considered suitable for you, your career stage and your research. Some examples of where candidates have been invited to submit, in addition to or as an alternative to the FLF scheme:

• Wellcome Trust Career Development Awards
• Leverhulme Trust Research Leaders Award
• ERC Starting or Consolidator Grant
• Other UKRI fellowship opportunities

 
All these schemes are geared up to support exceptional Early- or Mid-career researchers but we’ll work with individual candidates to confirm their eligibility for any alternative scheme recommendations.