Funding: Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellowships

Applications are now open for the second round of the Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellowships:

Now in their second year, Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellowships aim to support and develop upcoming stars in public engagement with science. The Engagement Fellowships champion the leaders of tomorrow by fostering the most promising upcoming talent of today. We are looking for people with a strong track record of engaging the public with ideas around biomedical science and/or medical humanities, looking to make a step-change in their careers.

We will provide the freedom, resources and environment to enable exceptional individuals to develop their skills and practice in encouraging the public to examine, explore and debate the big scientific challenges that society faces.

Engagement Fellowships are open to individuals with a proven track record of delivering (rather than facilitating) high-quality public engagement and aim to propel Fellows to become leaders in the field of public engagement with science in the UK and/or the Republic of Ireland.

Applications are welcome from professional science communicators, research scientists, medical historians, clinicians or professionals working in the arts. Applicants may or may not be currently affiliated to or employed by a UK academic institution. In those cases where they are, however, applicants may be asked to demonstrate how they will help to further embed public engagement as a core activity within their home institution on their return.

We want to:

• accelerate and enhance the careers of talented people, propelling them to become the public engagement leaders of tomorrow
• enable Fellows to investigate and shape best practice in public engagement
• raise the profile and prestige of public engagement in both the Fellow's field of work and the biomedical sciences more widely
• foster a network of influential public engagement ambassadors within biomedical science.

We provide Fellows with financial support for up to two years, covering:

• salary or salary buyout (on a full- or part-time basis)
• project costs
• training, where appropriate
• if desired, access to office space and facilities at the Wellcome Trust for the duration of the Fellowship, as well as membership of the Wellcome Collection club, Henry's
• where appropriate, opportunities to work with Wellcome Trust staff to develop project ideas.

For more information and to apply for a fellowship, visit the website: www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Public-engagement/Funding-schemes/Engagement-Fellowships/index.htm