How to apply for a Research Technical Professional Fellowship
Research Technical Professional Fellowships are aimed at those who have worked in, or are looking to move into, technical research roles. Research technical professionals include anyone with specialised skills and knowledge in any area of research, STEM, humanities, arts and more.
These Fellowships have an emphasis on specific advanced research, scientific, engineering and/or creative techniques, alongside mentoring and training that fully equips those undertaking them to return to a technical professional role.
As with all our Fellowships, they are only open to those who have had a career break for two years or more, taken for family, caring or health reasons.
Application process for a Research Technical Professional Fellowship
Finding a Research Technical Professional Fellowship and registering your interest
Research Technical Professional Fellowships are advertised in Current Opportunities.
If you don’t see an opportunity that meets your needs, you can register your interest in undertaking a Research Technical Professional Fellowship here.
After you’ve done this, there is no need to proceed to the next stage – we’ll contact you when a relevant opportunity arises. Please note that we cannot guarantee when this may be – it entirely depends on the availability of funding. We therefore advise you to continue seeking alternative opportunities and to update us if you no longer wish to proceed. You can do this by emailing our Research Technical Professional Fellowships Lead, Morwenna, on morwenna.jones@surrey.ac.uk.
Complete and return our application forms
Please read ‘Are you eligible to apply for a fellowship’ before applying. If you have any questions, please contact our Research Technical Professional Fellowships Lead, Morwenna, on morwenna.jones@surrey.ac.uk.
Please download, read and complete the forms below and send them back to us at morwenna.jones@surrey.ac.uk. These are specific to Research Technical Professional Fellowships – please make sure you fill in the correct version and not those for our Research Fellowships.
Eligibility and suitability check
Your eligibility and suitability are assessed using the information submitted to us in the forms. If you fit our eligibility criteria, one of our fellowship advisors will arrange a telephone interview with you to talk through your CV, your career break, your desire to retrain, and your field of interest.
If several applicants apply for the same Research Technical Professional Fellowship, there may be an initial interview at this stage involving the Funder to select a preferred applicant.
Preliminary application phase (writing a draft proposal)
If you’re found eligible and suitable, you’ll be asked to write a draft proposal that explains your retraining programme. It must be challenging but achievable within the timescales of the fellowship. This is your opportunity to acquire the technical and professional skills and knowledge that will put you back on a par with colleagues who have not taken a career break.
You will receive guidelines on how to write and present your proposal. In most cases, it will be developed iteratively between you, your supervisor and your fellowship advisor. There may also be a second informal interview at this stage to help you prepare.
A first draft proposal should be submitted to your fellowship advisor three months after your eligibility has been confirmed.
Formal application phase (interview)
A formal interview will take place with the funder, the chair of our Awards Assessment Panel and senior representatives from the Trust. The interview is an opportunity to discuss in detail your background, the proposal and your future employment prospects.
We know that interviews can be intimidating but we’ll provide guidelines and tell you the types of questions you’re likely to be asked.
The interview helps you prepare for your career re-entry, and we’ll do all we can to make it a positive experience for you.
After the interview, a final decision will be made on whether your application for a Research Technical Professional Fellowship has been successful.