EPSRC announces £8 million capital awards to support Early Career Researchers

A new £8 million capital investment in research equipment is announced today by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

The series of capital awards will go to 36 institutions across the UK to support Early Career Researchers undertaking new research and enhance their career development prospects.

The total value of the investment is over £8 million and forms part of EPSRC’s World Class Labs investment.

The institutions have shown a range of creative approaches to investing these funds, from specific equipment for multiple users, to internal competitions for funding for equipment, to targeted investment in support of specific groups or individuals based on an internal selection process.

Professor Lynn Gladden EPSRC’s Executive Chair, said “World class researchers deserve world class laboratories and this investment is one that will benefit the career of many Early Career Researchers across the country. Having the right tools for their research will give them the opportunities they need to make new advances in their fields and keep our universities working at the leading edge of science and engineering.”

List of the Higher Education Institutes awarded grants:

• University of Bath
• University of Birmingham
• University of Bristol
• University of Cambridge
• Cardiff University
• University of Dundee
• Durham University
• University of East Anglia
• University of Edinburgh
• University of Exeter
• University of Glasgow
• Heriot-Watt University
• Imperial College London
• University of Kent
• Kings College London
• Lancaster University
• University of Leeds
• University of Liverpool
• Loughborough University
• The University of Manchester
• Newcastle University
• University of Nottingham
• University of Oxford
• Queen’s University Belfast
• Queen Mary University of London
• University of Reading
• University of Sheffield       
• University of Southampton           
• University of St Andrews
• University of Strathclyde
• University of Surrey
• University of Sussex
• Swansea University
• University of York
• University of Warwick
• UCL

About The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC): Part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government, EPSRC is the main funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK. By investing in research and postgraduate training, we are building the knowledge and skills base needed to address the scientific and technological challenges facing the nation.

Our portfolio covers a vast range of fields from healthcare technologies to structural engineering, manufacturing to mathematics, advanced materials to chemistry. The research we fund has impact across all sectors. It provides a platform for future UK prosperity by contributing to a healthy, connected, resilient, productive nation.