Early Career Researchers

At Loughborough, we aim to provide sector-leading support to our Early Career Researchers through structured programmes within a welcoming, dynamic research community.

We offer Doctoral Prize Fellowships to excellent researchers within 2 years of PhD completion. These prestigious 2-year positions, across all disciplines, allow the development of your own research programme leading to submission for an externally funded Research Fellowship. This is directly supported by a dedicated Research Development Manager, and complemented by mentoring and a cohort training programme.

All research staff have access to a wealth of opportunities to develop personal and professional skills, following the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers. These include workshops and courses covering funding applications, proposal peer review, managing projects, finding collaborators, publication, Intellectual Property and commercialisation. In addition, we support you in gaining recognition for your teaching through the Higher Education Academy.

Our New Lecturers’ Programme (NLP) offers three years’ comprehensive training. Protected teaching workload allows new academic staff to establish their full academic profile (research, teaching and enterprise) at a manageable pace, guided by a trained advisor. The NLP covers publication, funding, collaboration, public engagement and partnerships, guarantees a PhD studentship and covers all aspects of teaching, leading to fellowship (FHEA) status of the Higher Education Academy.

Our supportive approach will give you the best possible start to your academic career:

Externally-funded Research Fellowships are an excellent route for Early Career Researcher career development. Fellowships are available from a wide range of funders and Loughborough’s Research Development team are here to support you.
The Academic Language Study Unit provides English language support as well as a suite of online resources for both native English speakers and those with English as a second language.
A range of family-friendly policies apply to all our posts from flexible working to an on-campus nursery. Part-time working is welcome, and maternity, paternity and adoption leave are also available.