Leadership Fellowships

Our flagship Lord Kelvin / Adam Smith (LKAS) Fellowship Scheme was established in 2012 to enable the recruitment of outstanding researchers in the early stages of their careers, who are on a trajectory to become leaders in their chosen field. The scheme offers Fellows the opportunity to establish, or further develop, an independent research career.

Leadership Fellowships offer support for those applying for externally funded fellowships. They also support external applicants already holding externally funded fellowships who would like to join the University of Glasgow.

Researchers currently employed at another institution can apply for Leadership Fellowship funding in conjunction with an application for an external award. If they have already secured an externally funded research fellowship and wish to bring this to Glasgow, they can also apply for LKAS Leadership Fellowship funding prior to commencing employment at the University of Glasgow and starting their external fellowship.

For researchers based at the University of Glasgow, applications for Leadership Fellowship funding must be submitted in conjunction with an application for an external award. Leadership Fellowship applications will not be accepted after the external fellowship is awarded. Once approved by the relevant College, LKAS Leadership Fellowship applications must be submitted to R&I for institutional approval at least three weeks in advance of the external funding deadline. Please note: Colleges will have different processes in place for approving applications; please contact your College Office for more information. All LKAS Leadership Fellowship applications must be submitted through the relevant College Office. Please ensure you contact your College Office prior to submitting a Leadership Fellowship application.

What we are offering

  • Leadership Fellowship funding is provided to supplement externally funded fellowships, specifically where match-funding is required or where additional support would strongly benefit the external fellowship application. 
  • External Fellowships leveraged by Leadership Fellowship funds must have a minimum duration of three years.
  • Leadership Fellows will be offered salary match-funding and/or a research support grant, up to a maximum value of £100k. 
  • Fellows will be appointed a mentor and will be entitled to participate in any of the training programmes and courses offered by the School/Institute, College or University.

 

Continuation Policy

To note: this continuation clause is applicable only to those who have applied for a Leadership Fellowship (LF) after 1 January 2022 and had their LF application approved.

The LKAS Leadership award has two options relating to continuation of posts, depending on which College the Fellow is in. The continuation policy will be agreed for each candidate at the application stage. 

Colleges of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences and Science & Engineering

For Fellowships of at least 5 years, the options are as follows:

  • Option 1: Fellows will be awarded an open-ended post, conditional on meeting certain College-defined criteria (e.g. applying for/securing a certain level of funding over the course of their fellowship, completing ECDP/PgCAP, meeting challenging objectives appropriate to Grade).
  • Option 2: No later than 12 months from the end of the fellowship, fellows will be guaranteed the opportunity to apply for an open-ended position to start immediately following the fellowship.

Colleges of Arts and Social Sciences

For Fellowships of 3 years or longer, the options are as follows:

  • Option 1: Fellows will be awarded an open-ended post, conditional on meeting certain College-defined criteria (e.g. applying for/securing a certain level of funding over the course of their fellowship, completing ECDP/PgCAP, meeting challenging objectives appropriate to Grade).
  • Option 2: No later than 12 months from the end of the fellowship, fellows will be guaranteed the opportunity to apply for an open-ended position to start immediately following the fellowship.

Who we are looking for

  • Leadership funding is available to high quality researchers who are in the early stages of their careers and are not already holding established positions within a relevant institution.
  • Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria for the relevant externally-funded fellowship. Additionally, applicants will be expected to demonstrate an outstanding capacity for innovative research and have a strong publications record.
  • The University of Glasgow welcomes those returning to work after a period of absence or those who require a flexible working pattern, and supports schemes such as The Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships and The Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowships.
  • All applicants will be judged against equivalent quality thresholds.
  • Funding is available to potential Fellows in the process of applying to an external scheme who intend to undertake their research at the University. Alternatively, Leadership funds may be committed to support an external candidate already holding an external fellowship at another institution who wishes to transfer their fellowship to the University. 

How to apply

  • Interested applicants should contact their College Research Office, as each College will have its own internal process for reviewing LKAS applications. 
  • Applications must be made using the relevant Leadership Fellow application form (see below) and must be submitted by the relevant College Office, following discussions with College academics.
  • Applications must be submitted no later than three weeks prior to the external deadline to allow time for review.
  • The applicant's CV should be submitted with the Leadership Fellow application form. 
  • Following confirmation of eligibility, formal approval to commit funding will be sought from the Vice Principal (Research) .
LKAS LF Form for Candidates applying for external funding

For applicants applying for externally-funded fellowships (if the candidate is based at the University of Glasgow, Leadership Fellow applications must be made in conjunction with the external application and submitted no later than 3 weeks prior to the external deadline). 
Updated July 2022

LKAS LF Form for Candidates holding external funding

For external applicants, who are currently holding or have been awarded an externally-funded fellowship and wish to undertake their research at the University of Glasgow.
Updated July 2022

Contacts

If you are interested in submitting a Leadership Fellowship application, please contact the relevant College Research Office using the emails below.

College Research OfficeEmail
College of Arts arts-researchoffice@glasgow.ac.uk
College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences mvls-research-office@glasgow.ac.uk
College of Science & Engineering scieng-submit@glasgow.ac.uk
College of Social Sciences socsci-research-office@glasgow.ac.uk