EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship

Heriot-Watt University; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

33 days annual leave

9 buildings closed days

Job summary

Heriot-Watt University invites applications for the EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship. This full-time, fixed-term position (12–24 months) offers a Grade 7 salary of £37,694 to £47,389 per annum, with 35 hours per week.

Shortlisted candidates will join research teams across key institutes and engage in high-impact doctoral work. Applicants should meet EPSRC eligibility criteria and be ready to commence by May 2027.

Qualifications

• Eligibility: EPSRC-funded Doctoral Prize Fellowship, must be eligible under EPSRC rules.

Responsibilities

• Undertake innovative research aligned with EPSRC remit.
• Collaborate with the host department and external partners as needed.
• Contribute to dissemination of research findings and reports.

Job description

Role Title: EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship

Grade and Salary: Grade 7, £37,694- £47,389 per annum (please note that the successful candidate will normally be appointed on the first point).

FTE and working pattern: Full-time (35hrs per week) Fixed Term (12-24 Months)

Reward and Benefits: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 buildings closed days for all full time staff. Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.

About our Opportunities

EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship roles are funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council as part of Heriot-Watt University’s Doctoral Training Partnership award.

The EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship scheme is intended to help universities recruit and retain the very best newly qualified doctoral (e,g PhD, EngD) students, and help them launch careers in research. The Fellowships target the top 10-15% of EPSRC-funded students.

All Fellowship projects must lie within the EPSRC remit. Consideration should be given to the alignment of the area of research with one of the following Heriot-Watt Global Research Institutes or Frontier Research areas:

• The National Robotarium (Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science)
• Net Zero (technologies that will enable decarbonisation to deliver net zero)
• Health and Care Engineering /Medical Technology
• Photonics and Quantum
• Smart construction
• Mathematics

Further information on the above can be found at Heriot-Watt’s research web pages

Applications with leverage, in-kind and cash, from an industrial or third sector partner/s are encouraged.

Support from an industrial or third-sector partner can be provided as in-kind contributions, such as supervisory time and access to facilities or as a direct cash contribution towards the fellowship.

Successful applicants will be expected to take their research to the next level and undertake new, innovative research. An outline of eligibility requirements, and the application process and deadlines, are detailed below.

Person Specification

The Fellowships are funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council as part of Heriot-Watt University’s Doctoral Training Partnership Award. The criteria below is that specified by EPSRC in their award terms.

Eligibility Essentials

• All Fellowship projects must lie within the EPSRC remit. Successful applicants will be expected to take their research to the next level and undertake new research.
• The fellowship must commence by latest May 2027 and can be 12 or 24 months. (The funding available is for an estimated three, 24 months FTE positions)
• Applicants must have received EPSRC studentship funding and have submitted their doctoral thesis on or after October 2023.
• The Fellow must have submitted their thesis for examination prior to the start of the award and no earlier than October 2023. Candidates who have not yet submitted their thesis at the time of application are still eligible, but they must have submitted their thesis prior to the Fellowship start date, and the supervisor’s letter of support must clearly state the expected submission date. Where the viva exam has not taken place before the start of the Fellowship, the outcome must be an outright pass or pass with minor corrections otherwise the Fellowship will be withdrawn. If minor corrections are required, they must be done outside of the time allocated for the Fellowship
• Applications will be accepted from any student that received EPSRC doctoral funding at a UK institution (fees and/or stipend). This includes students funded by: Centres for Doctoral Training (CDT), Doctoral Training Partnerships (DTP), National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) and Industrial CASE studentships (I-CASE). Those who received funding via another of the Research Councils within UKRI are NOT eligible to apply for the EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship.

Other Information

Non-salary costs are available for direct research expenses, for example facilities use, consumables, travel (e.g., fieldwork, visiting collaborators, attending conferences) and outreach activities (e.g., public engagement). Any costs requested should be appropriate for the project being undertaken. £10k per annum can be requested as a guideline, but more or less can be requested, dependent wholly on the nature of the project. Any costs requested must be realistic and justified in the application form.

Applications can be submitted until 23:55 on Wednesday 11th November 2026.

It is anticipated that shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview end-November. Successful candidates will be notified as soon as possible thereafter.

Enquiries can be directed to Baz, Strategic Projects Officer, [e-mail]

In advance of applying, all applicants should be in contact with their proposed host department to discuss how they can support the Fellowship and any local departmental timelines/deadlines.

Interview and shortlisting panels will consist of academics from across the EPSRC remit. Applicants should ensure their application is accessible to a general scientific audience.

About Heriot-Watt University

At Heriot Watt we are passionate about our values and look to them to connect our people globally and to help us collaborate and celebrate our success through working together. Our research programmes can deliver real world impact which is achieved through the diversity of our international community and the recognition of creative talent that connects our global team.

Our flourishing community will give you the freedom to challenge and to bring your enterprising mind and to help our partners with solutions that can be applied now and in the future. Join us and Heriot Watt will provide you with a platform to thrive and work in a way that also helps you live your life in balance with well-being and inclusiveness at the heart of our global community.

Heriot-Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities.Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.

Heriot-Watt University values diversity across our University community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award-winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/ .

We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns e.g. part-time working and job share options.

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot-Watt University.