Surrey Future Fellowships

Across the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, a diverse range of research centres, research groups and individual projects address the theme of ‘gender, identity and sexualities’.

In the School of Literature and Languages, research is exploring literary representations of gender including women’s contemporary and historical writing, as well as representations of and structural inequalities related to gender in the cultural industries. Research in the Department of Sociology is examining gendered inequalities in areas as diverse as parenthood, young people’s use of social media, sustainability and the criminal justice system.

Gender inequalities in the workplace are researched in the Surrey Business School and the School of Economics, whilst the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management’s Gender, Entrepreneurship and Social Policy Institute has projects designed to understand and create more inclusive gendered entrepreneurship.

The Faculty-wide Sex, Gender and Sexualities Research Group (SGS) includes research utilising Feminist, Intersectional and Queer perspectives. SGS members have an established track record of scholarship focused on sexualities and their intersection with gender. This includes inequalities experienced by LGBT+ people across a wide range of times and spaces, young people’s sexuality and the history of sexuality.

Wider questions of identity are also being examined across the Faculty. The Centre for Britain and Europe, located within the Department of Politics, incorporates a range of projects and scholarship focused on national and international political and ethnic identities. Current projects consider the evolution of national identity in conjunction with the rise and establishment of populist parties, the intersectionality of identity in domestic politics and international relations, and the way identity shapes political behaviour, party choice and civic activism. The relationship between identity and hate crime is explored in the Department of Sociology’s Centre for Criminology.

Surrey is renowned for excellence in research into infection and immunity. Over the last five years, around £15 million research income has been awarded by funders in industry, six of the nine UKRI research councils, the EU, and Wellcome Trust for work in this area. Over the same period, we have published around 675 peer-reviewed papers related to infection and immunity. Our Microbiology programme is ranked second in the Microbiology and Cell Science grouping of the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF2021).

Surrey’s research encompasses the study of viruses, bacteria and parasites that cause significant human and animal morbidity and mortality globally. This is complemented by research into antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and research seeking to develop better ways to strengthen immunity, understand inappropriate immune responses that cause illness, and develop targeted therapeutics to combat disease pathologies. Our flourishing research environment supports a broad range of research conducted at scale ranging from molecular to populations and incorporating systems analysis. We develop digital data capture tools to enable analysis of big data, with our newly established People-Centred AI Institution providing AI and machine learning expertise to support our advanced data analytics. Our Infection and Immunity work falls within the University One Health, One Medicine ethos with collaborations across the five schools within Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences and pan-university.

One of our key strategic priorities is to extend the international impact of our One Health, One Medicine research including zoonotic diseases and host immunity. We are looking to maximise opportunities for research and innovation arising from partnership with industry, local research partners and through international collaborations (particularly with LMICs where infectious diseases have the biggest impact). The launch of the University’s new School of Medicine, alongside the existing School of Veterinary Medicine, provides exciting new opportunity for innovation and impact. Developing tools that bring together data from disparate sources serves our researchers and students, by enabling integrative analyses that can produce novel insights and high impact. Novel approaches to tackle multi-level and highly complex data such as those collected from wearable devises, digital health applications and multi-omics investigations give great potential to continue developing and generating AI tools applicable to veterinary and human health and medicine.

Exploring social and economic reforms, new business models, together with the Department of Sociology, School of Economics, the Surrey Business School, the Centre for International Intervention, the Department of Politics; as well as sustainability in every-day lives through the Centre for Environment and Sustainability, such as sustainable care with the Centre for Research in Social Simulation, the Environmental Psychology Research Group and the University’s new School of Medicine, leisure, travel and tourism activities with School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and its Centre for Sustainability and Wellbeing in the Visitor Economy, as well as production and consumption patterns through the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP).

Across the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, staff are exploring the implications of increasing digitisation for our working practices and lives more generally.

Colleagues in the Digital Societies research cluster in the Department of Sociology are asking key questions about the relationship between digital technologies and our wellbeing, as well as the impact of processes of datafication and the shift to platform technologies. The relationship between digital technologies and crime is the focus of scholars in the School of Law’s Law and Technology Hub, who are pursuing research on cybercrime and cybersecurity – as well as more theoretically informed work on algorithmic fairness.

The development of cultural practices in the digital age is also a key area of intellectual enquiry for the Faculty – through, for example, the wide range of projects on different aspects of digital media arts being conducted by the Department of Music and Media and Guildford School of Acting.

Focussing more specifically on the workplace, researchers from Surrey Business School are examining the impact of digitisation on working practices and cultures (through the Future of Work research centre), and how economic life is being reconfigured (in its Centre of Digital Economy). Similarly, research in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management addresses digital transformation in the visitor economy, through its dedicated centre, while a wide range of projects in the School of Literature and Languages’ Centre for Translation Studies focus on the use of new technologies to improve processes of interpreting and translation. Law researchers are also interested in the extent to which machine learning can help predict court case outcomes.

Nature presents some of the best examples of how to solve complex problems efficiently and effectively. Drawing inspiration and innovation from nature is core to this topic, and across the Faculties of Engineering and Physical Science and Arts and Social Sciences, colleagues are applying this to solve some of our greatest challenges. Nature-based solutions look to simultaneously benefit people and nature, and this is epitomised in the pan-university Institute for Sustainability. This newly formed institute encompasses expertise from across the faculties from policy and conceptual frameworks for sustainable development (exemplified by the Centre for Environment and Sustainability) through to the use of natural systems to build a better planet.

Our research is helping to restore the Sussex kelp habitat with our involvement in the Sussex Bay Project while colleagues in Mechanical Engineering Sciences are taking inspiration from nature to create robotics that can be used for environmental monitoring and preservation. The ‘Space 4 Nature’ project (funded by the Dream Fund) is involving 1,500 volunteers to use space and AI technology to restore Surrey’s wildlife habitats. The RECLAIM project is using nature-based solutions to turn our cities from vulnerable spaces to healthy spaces for people.

Surrey computer scientists in the Nature Inspired Computing and Engineering group are advancing the foundations of artificial intelligence by drawing inspiration from all kinds of natural systems, including cognitive sciences, biological systems, gene regulatory networks, and natural evolution and are applying these techniques to solve real-world problems in healthcare and sustainability, computer vision and robotics, natural language processing, and other areas.

The Leverhulme Quantum Biology Doctoral Training Centre is researching the physics of photosynthesis which may provide the solar cells of the future.

Ranked in the top three national league tables for over a decade, Surrey boasts world-leading expertise in human nutrition and sustainable food systems. Forming part of our One Health, One Medicine ethos our work influences the World Health Organization, UK Government and policy makers internationally. In 2017/18 we were awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize (QAP) for our pioneering research into obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis, vitamin D, iodine, food labelling and military nutrition strategies and remain the first and only recipient of a QAP within the field of nutritional sciences.

Surrey’s expertise covers:

1. Chronic degenerative diseases: Our Metabolic Medicine, Food and Macronutrients Hub is a national centre of excellence for applying stable isotope trace-labelling technology to study origins and risk management of chronic diseases. We study genetic and metabolic origins of variation in blood cholesterol in response to dietary fats (‘precision nutrition’), role of resistant starches and protein on gut permeability, and impact of ‘leaky gut’ on metabolic health.  
2. Nutrition and public health: Our Public Health and Food Security Hub focuses on public health consequences of vitamin D, iodine and vitamin B12 deficiency, and devising “targeted” dietary and lifestyle recommendations. We aim to reduce nutritional risk and promote healthy ageing through new mechanistic insights into how food components impact biological processes (such as gene expression, metabolism and DNA damage-repair). 
3. Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre: Our Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre brings together researchers from Psychology, Nutritional Sciences and Management and includes research domains in food-related behaviour and policy interventions to achieve sustainable and healthy lifestyles; social, policy and ethical influences on food sustainability and obesity.

As part of our One Health, One Medicine research we work with engineers, chemists and physicists – using AI and big data science. Our key priority is to model and pioneer novel solutions to food and health issues; and address challenges of food sustainability and insecurity in the water-energy-food nexus. While there is a significant growth in available large-scale patient-level, and molecular data, as well as other social care and environment information, these resources are rarely integrated and mined jointly. By developing tools that bring together data from disparate sources we are serving researchers and students, by enabling integrative analyses that can produce novel insights and high impact.

Taking a different approach to much AI research in the UK, the Surrey Institute for People-Centred AI puts the needs of individuals and society at the very heart of everything it does: we believe that the focus for AI should be the creation of technologies that benefit people at an individual and societal level. This people-centred approach informs our research and drives us to design AI technologies and systems which are ethical, responsible and inclusive.

The Institute is truly cross-disciplinary, drawing on AI and domain expertise across all of the University faculties, finding new ways to create and share innovative ideas and approaches, and to fostering new research directions and collaborations. The Institute research agenda centres on six core themes, based on our own priorities, coupled with research published by UKRI, AI Council, Society 5.0 and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These themes include trustworthy and responsible AI; AI for education, information and entertainment; AI for health and wellbeing; human-AI interaction and cooperation; AI for society 5.0; and sustainable AI.

The pan-University Institute brings together Surrey’s long-established AI-related expertise in computer vision, speech and signal processing, computer science, and mathematics, with its domain expertise across engineering and physical sciences, human and animal health, law and regulation, business, finance and the social sciences. We also aim to transform teaching in AI, with a unique MSc in AI covering multiple AI sub-disciplines and the ambition to offer compelling short courses in AI to external organisations.

Breaking down the traditional barriers of academic research, the Institute is a home for research leaders with a strong interdisciplinary ethos and a shared vision of shaping AI responsibly for the public good. As an academic within the pan-University Institute, you will become a catalyst for driving this transformation, playing a pivotal role in building the University’s activity in AI, transforming the way that the University undertakes multi-disciplinary research, creating new ways of teaching AI, while nurturing and inspiring the next generation of AI specialists.

Research on quantum technologies in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences encompasses a wide range of theoretical and experimental studies and is an exciting area of growth for the faculty. Colleagues in mathematics and physics are engaging with fundamental questions around quantum systems including the Quantum Foundations Centre which is exploring theoretical problems at the forefront of research across fundamental physics, mainly exploring the behaviour of open quantum systems in various environments. We carry out research on the manufacture of quantum computers with the Advanced Technology Institute exploring superconducting circuits and the Surrey Ion Beam Centre supporting the fabrication of appropriate substrates. As quantum computing moves closer to real-world applications, colleagues across physics and computing are also working on quantum algorithms and technologies, including quantum threats and resilience of systems, ensuring digital assets remain secure in a quantum age.

Quantum biology (through the Leverhulme Quantum biology Doctoral Training Centre) spans a wide range of biological systems and processes, collecting a focussed interaction between theoretical and experimental standpoints for an iterative and symbiotic investigation into proton-tunnelling in DNA, the role of ‘noise’ in gene expression, photosynthetic systems and avian magnetoreception.

Across the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, a diverse range of research centres, research groups and individual projects address the challenge of “Building a secure and resilient world” – in particular, our colleagues are working to enhance national security across virtual and physical infrastructure, improve awareness of risks and threats, preparedness and decision-making.

Surrey Computer Scientists are establishing a leading UK role in digital resilience, building on our unique configuration of research groups, Cyber Security (recognised as an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research), Distributed and Networked Systems, and Nature Inspired Computing and Engineering.

Resilience is inherently multidisciplinary and extends naturally across computer science and electrical and electronic engineering, especially the 5G/6G Innovation Centre, Surrey Space Centre, and the pan-university Institute for People-Centred AI. Resilience also extends more widely across the Faculty within the engineering departments: colleagues in Civil And Environmental Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering Sciences work across an array of critical infrastructure and materials; while working with the rail and water industries, civil engineers are advancing techniques to support the identification and monitoring of critical infrastructure.

Research on rights and responsibilities in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences encompasses a wide range of theoretical and empirical studies. The School of Law’s Centre for Law and Philosophy engages with fundamental questions about the nature of our legal rights and obligations, and how we go about – through law – creating a fairer society. Such questions also inform the work of criminologists in the Department of Sociology, who have carried out a variety of empirical studies – for example, with respect to youth justice and human rights.

A focus on both rights and responsibilities is central to much of the work of the Department of Politics. Current research addresses, for example, the rights of refugees to international protection and the role played by international agreements in securing such protection. The Centre for International Intervention also looks at the idea of responsibility to protect (R2P) in the context of international organisations. The Department’s Centre for Britain and Europe explores citizens’ rights and responsibilities within the context of contemporary representative democracies, at home, in Europe and beyond, focusing on issues of representation, equality and justice, pathways to political engagement, and the idea of responsible public policy and governance.

Responsibility for the environment is also an important intellectual focus across the Faculty – pursued, for example, by colleagues in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management’s Centre for Sustainability and Wellbeing in the Visitor Economy, and the School of Law’s Centre for International and Environmental Law.

Within the School of Economics, responsibilities are addressed through research on monetary policy, banking supervision and macro-prudential regulation, carried out by members of the School’s Centre for International Macro-Economic Studies.

The Surrey Institute for Sustainability will be a centre of excellence for research, innovation and education that addresses the challenges and opportunities of promoting prosperous, healthy and equitable lives for current and future generations.

In its transdisciplinary nature, the Institute will operate as a ‘synthesis centre’ across social, natural and technological sciences with a view to leveraging Surrey’s existing R&I strengths and working closely with industry, government and other organisations. It will foment innovative and cross-disciplinary research for societal impact and transformation.

Its research and action priorities will drive collaborations from a diverse range of research centres, research groups and individuals to address:

Exploring social and economic reforms, new business models, together with the Departments of Sociology, School of Economics, the Surrey Business School, the Centre for International Intervention, the Department of Politics; as well as sustainability in every-day lives through the Centre for Environment and Sustainability, such as sustainable care with the Centre for Research in Social Simulation, the Environmental Psychology Research Group, the University’s new School of Medicine, leisure, travel and tourism activities with School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and its Centre for Sustainability and Wellbeing in the Visitor Economy, as well as production and consumption patterns through the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP).

Across the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, staff are driving innovations in the application of advanced communication systems and space technologies, delivering pioneering changes to our world.

Colleagues in the 5G/6G Innovation centre work together with key industry partners in a shared vision to help define and develop the 5G/6G infrastructure that will underpin the way we communicate, work and live our everyday lives. The 5G/6G vision sets an ambition to enable a world where everything is provided wirelessly to the end device by a fixed and mobile (converged) infrastructure that functions across the whole geography.

To unlock further opportunities for satellite-enabled services and connectivity, space engineering and examination of the space environment are vital and our heritage in satellite technology and payload development means Surrey is well placed to do this.

Researchers from Surrey Space Centre are delivering new techniques for optimised data handling, monitoring and mitigating space weather and monitoring of the earth through synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Surrey Space Centre is proud to maintain a close working relationship with Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, and continues to deploy instruments and hardware into orbit, including the recent CREDANCE space weather monitor on NASA’s ‘Living with a Star’ mission and the highly challenging RemoveDebris mission which demonstrated how a rogue satellite can be captured by a net and harpoon.

Our research generates impact that benefits wellbeing of clinical populations, working lives and society by conducting cutting-edge collaborative, interdisciplinary research into understanding behavioural dynamics and the science and practice of behaviour change.

We apply theory to understand and sustainably improve emotions, cognition, and wellbeing of both humans and animals, in line with our One Health, One Medicine strategic approach. We have close ties with NHS trusts, social care, local authorities, schools, third sector organisations, policymakers, and commercial partners. Capitalising on the rapid growth in artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics in healthcare allows for the prediction of outcomes and identification of patterns in areas of health and medicine where conventional research methods have over-simplified complex disease and care. By driving analytics that are actionable we are developing applications that have direct impact on public health, social care and clinical practice.

Our expertise in prevention and management of physical (e.g. chronic conditions – diabetes, cardiovascular, respiratory and atopic disease) and psychological (e.g., anxiety, depression, eating disorders) ill-health, and typical and atypical development (e.g. ADHD, dyscalculia, dyslexia, autism) covers the entire lifespan. We conduct research to inform healthcare practice (animal and human) and support wellbeing of healthcare workforces ensuring optimal staff and patient outcomes.

We investigate processes influencing behaviour change in contexts such as dietary habits and supplements, work-life balance (e.g. health care and veterinarian professionals), physical exercise, Sleep, neuromodulation, smoking cessation, and screening for genetic conditions, using our research to design and evaluate innovative technologies for diagnostic/therapeutic gain.

At the societal level we focus on supporting and sustaining positive interpersonal relations, equality, and generous inclusion by understanding how emotion influences these processes. This includes diverse populations across developmental time periods/cultures and extends to understanding how people behave in different environments, how these interactions affect environment quality and people’s wellbeing. We focus on understanding pro-environmental behaviour, sustainable consumption, and how behaviours in built and natural settings affect people’s physical and mental health.

Our collaboration with other faculties (FEPS, FASS) and Surrey’s Institutes (Institute of Education, People-centred AI Institute, and Institute for Sustainability), our Digital Health priority affords exciting novel avenues for research. The power of AI lies in Big Data and while there is a significant growth in available large-scale patient-level, and molecular data, as well as other social care and environment information, these resources are rarely integrated and mined jointly. Developing the tools that bring together data from disparate sources will serve researchers and students, by enabling integrative analyses that can produce novel insights and high impact publications.

Exploring together with the Centre for Environment and Sustainability, Centre for Environmental Health and Engineering, a designated World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for the protection of water quality and human health, Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), the Centre for the Evaluation of Complexity Across the Nexus (CECAN), the People-centred AI Institute, the Food, Consumer Behaviour and Health Research Centre , ‘One Health, One Medicine’ research society-nature feedback loops, energy-water-food nexus, social and ecological determinants of health outcomes, circular economies.

The University of Surrey is looking to welcome up to 40 research fellows who will form a solid network of world-leading researchers at the heart of our ambitious strategic research and innovation programme.

All candidates for this fellowship programme should apply for this job listing.

You’ll be asked to complete our online application form, submit a CV (maximum two pages of A4 and up to 1,000 words in total), your research proposal (maximum two pages of A4 and up to 1,000 words in total) and, if you wish, you may include up to two letters of support.

The difference between the reference(s) and the letter(s) of support is that the reference is required to come from the candidate’s current employer or educational establishment and will be requested later in the recruitment process, it is also mandatory. The letter(s) of support could be from a wider range of individuals and chosen by the candidate to support their research proposal and recommendation for the Fellowship and is optional. They may be from the same people or different people.

There is an expectation that individuals on the programme will contribute to teaching. This component will be limited during the three years of the Fellowship to ensure research plans are delivered.

Development support will be provided for those who have not previously had teaching experience with support towards qualifications available during the programme. On successful completion of the Fellowship, teaching will continue to be part of the overall responsibility in a permanent role.

If you’re successful in your application the University will act as sponsor for a visa application. Continuation on the programme and progression into any permanent position after the programme will be dependent on successful completion of the Fellowship and ongoing right to be in the UK.

We are very supportive of individuals’ career progression and fellows may apply for promotion, through the annual promotions process, with the support of their line manager. The fellow’s performance and wider contribution to the University will be assessed in line with the level of promotion being applied for.

There is a presumption of permanency associated with this programme. We have a high level of confidence that candidates who meet the expectations will progress to a permanent position. Regular feedback will be provided during the fellowship on progress against expected standards and you’ll receive tailored development to help you to reach your potential.

In the unlikely event that this does not happen, individuals will be supported through a period of consultation prior to the end of their contract and will be given the opportunity to join the redeployment register.

We want our Fellows to succeed in their aims and they will be given a competitive package which will include budget for consumables and travel and may include studentships. This will vary according to the nature of the research and requirements to meet key deliverables. Please indicate in your Research Proposal what your research requirements are in this regard.

For further questions, please contact futurefellows@surrey.ac.uk for support.

If you’re from an under-represented group and would like to make contact with someone in one of our faculties to discuss making an application, please let us know via the email address above.

 

A postdoctoral fellowship is a funded research position awarded to academics to provide them with the dedicated resources they need to complete a piece of academic research.

Fellowships will often have a dedicated objective, research theme or relevant group. Some common examples include:

• Early career fellowships that are open to emerging academics
• Future leader fellowships that include specific leadership and communication skill development alongside the research project.

The difference between a research fellow or a fellowship and an individual pursuing postdoctoral work, typically as a research assistant, is the ownership of the project that comes with it.

A research fellow on a fellowship is the principal investigator who defines the topic, writes bids to generate funding and is ultimately responsible for the delivery of a research project. Postdoctoral research assistant roles typically support a principal investigator’s research topic as a contributor.

An early career fellowship is a type of fellowship available to those taking their first steps in postdoctoral research. They will typically be targeting people who have not yet completed a full-time permanent academic post but have already acquired some research experience.

As well as being more accessible to apply for, early career fellowships offer structured support and skill development alongside the delivery of research to ensure the academic and professional development of early career researchers.

For example, our Surrey Future Fellowship programme provides research fellows with:

• An active peer-to-peer community
• Mentorship from world-leaders in their fields
• A dedicated bid-writing and financial support team
• Leadership and management training and seminars
• Teaching support and qualifications.

Interested in experiencing accelerated growth for the start of your research career? 

In terms of the Fellow and Senior Fellow opportunities, the eligibility criteria of 0-7 years since PhD qualification is effectively a ‘slide’ which applies to both Fellows and Senior Fellows. The difference in the levels is determined by their success/achievements during this time period. Allowances will be made for someone who has had a break in their career, for example, for parental or caring responsibilities and this will be considered on an individual basis.

Besides the satisfaction that comes from pushing the frontiers of research and knowledge, there are many professional and personal benefits to pursuing a research fellowship. As well as the career development and professional recognition that come with proposing, gaining funding and completing your own piece of research as the principal investigator, you will also be entitled to the benefits and rewards packages that come with being a faculty member of the University.

Our research fellows enjoy benefits including parental leave, career development training and travel support.

Ready to be rewarded for participating in world-leading research? If you’d like to enjoy the benefits that come with being a research fellow, apply now for the Surrey Future Fellowship programme.

Different universities and fellowships will have varying conditions on the level of academic background and previously completed post-doctoral experience required for both grant bids and sponsorship.

At the University of Surrey, we’re currently welcoming applications for the Surrey Future Fellowships from those that have already secured their PhD (within the last seven years) or are shortly to be awarded the qualification. We expect that you will have submitted your PhD by the time of the interviews, which will be taking place in early/mid-December 2022. If you are more advanced in your career, you can apply for a senior fellowship position by indicating the level on the application form. If you have ambitious plans for research excellence, apply to be a Surrey Future Fellow.

Fellowships are offered by different institutions and grant organisations with varying purposes in mind, and therefore can last for anything from a couple of months to a number of years. Fellowships typically last for between two to five years, especially for early careers fellowships.

The Surrey Future Fellowships that are currently open for applications will begin in early 2023. The initial period of the Fellowship is for three years during which time fellows will be on a research intensive pathway. Providing that the criteria for progression to a permanent position is met, fellows will then take up a teaching and research pathway at the beginning of their fourth year.

Whether you have gained prior postdoctoral research experience or are just finishing your PhD, it can be unclear how to take the next step to begin leading your own piece of research.

If you are interested in research fellowship opportunities that will allow you to lead your own piece of research, then it’s never too early to begin preparing and one of the first steps is developing the ideas behind the research topic you’re proposing. Where possible, get feedback from mentors and other academics to ensure what you propose is achievable, realistic and highly-relevant to the field; this will make it much easier to successfully present this when applying for grants.

You can then begin the process of application for research fellow positions. This can either be done through:

• Applying to the fellowship funding body where a university or laboratory sponsorship will then need to be separately approached to be a research sponsor
• If there is interest in your proposed topic, then the next stage typically would be an invitation to present to key members of the organisations. If it is then approved, then your sponsor will liaise with you to ensure you have everything you need to deliver the proposed research such as laboratory space, equipment and if necessary, research assistants
• Applying to a university directly for one of their research fellowship opportunities. If your research proposal is approved by the university, then they may be able to offer additional support in gaining research funding and getting set up.

Interested in becoming a research fellow? Apply for the Surrey Future Fellow programme.

A fellowship ends once the final reports are submitted to the organisation that provided the grant funding originally. For research fellows, there are a range of options available for what you may want to do next such as:

• Continue your academic research career by applying for new grants to build off on your findings or explore a related area of study. This may involve choosing to remain with the same university and research community or look to move elsewhere
• Apply for permanent academic positions as a lecturer, professor and other roles at a university. These will typically include teaching, research and administrative responsibilities
• Move into professional opportunities with industry and the private sector.

For many researchers, the end of a fellowship can represent a great deal of uncertainty. Unlike other traditional fellowships, being a Surrey future fellow offers genuine long-term prospects as there is the presumption that candidates will progress to a permanent academic position with the University of Surrey and continue to develop their career as part of our thriving research and academic community.

If you’re interested in this pathway, then regular feedback will be provided during the fellowship on progress against expected standards and you will receive tailored development to help you to reach your potential.

Research fellowships are available in all kinds of areas of study, from science, medicine and engineering to language, culture and arts and even across traditional disciplines.

While some research fellowships may be tied to a specific field of study, opportunities such as the Surrey Future Fellowships are open to applications from any field of study. At the University of Surrey, some of our key strategic research areas include sustainability, person-centred AI and digital health. However, opportunities on the programme are not limited to these areas and we encourage all eligible research fellowship candidates to submit an application and research concept, and this will be given due consideration. Submit your research proposal and apply to be a Surrey Future Fellow.

International fellowships provide support for those who are not UK citizens or permanent residents to pursue postdoctoral research at universities in the UK.

The University of Surrey is proud to be made up of people from over 140 different countries and has a wealth of expertise when it comes to supporting individuals to come to study and work in the United Kingdom. If you are successful in your fellowship application, then the University will act as sponsor for a visa application.

Continuation on the programme and into any permanent position after the programme are dependent on the ongoing right to be in the UK.

Yes. As a fellow in the UK at the University, you’ll receive a salary. This is supplied by the fellowship grant you are awarded along with any lab running costs, equipment and the salaries for any additional members of the research team such as research assistants or PhD students.

On our Surrey Future Fellowships, a research fellow could expect an annual income of up to £51,805 per annum with an enhanced package available for those eligible to join at senior fellow levels.

To apply for a postdoctoral research fellowship in the UK, you would first need to check that the grant funding is open to international applicants. This information is typically provided either by the fellowship funding body or the university where the fellowship would take place.

If you are eligible, then you can apply by registering an application with either the funding body or a university with your research proposal and any additional required information. If your application is successful, then the university would then act as sponsor for a visa application.

We are welcoming international applications to the Surrey Future Fellowship programme.

The responsibilities of research fellows can differ hugely across different cultural and academic contexts. For academia in the UK, a research fellow typically refers to an independently-funded principal researcher who proposes and delivers their own post-doctoral academic research topic, with support where necessary from post-doctoral research assistants.

The role of universities in the UK for research fellows is to provide research sponsorship. As a sponsor, they commit to ensuring arrangements are in place for you to be able to access the resources and support you need to deliver the proposed research. This extends as well to some responsibilities for the management and monitoring of the research and its delivery.

Interested in becoming a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Surrey? Our Future Fellowship programme is now accepting applications. Full guidance on how to apply, and the eligibility criteria, is available.