Published: 06 April 2023
The NIHR Academy has announced new initiatives that will expand its provision of training and career development opportunities for health and social care professionals. These include more opportunities at all levels of a research career from undergraduate through to postdoctoral. There will also be more support for those in underrepresented professions, to ensure a diverse range of people enter and are successful in a career in research.
In particular, the NIHR Academy wants to attract more nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and other registered health professionals, public health and social care practitioner academics, and those working in the fields of multiple long term conditions and dementia. This builds upon the strategic areas of focus set out within Best Research for Best Health: The Next Chapter, which sets out NIHR’s operational priorities.
In some cases existing NIHR Academy programmes will be expanded through increased investment, building on the success of these established programmes in the following ways:
- Awarding more Advanced Fellowships and IAT Clinical Lectureships
- Expanding the Development and Skills Enhancement Award to accept applications outside the NIHR Academy Membership
- Increasing investment in the Integrated Clinical and Practitioner Academic (ICA) Programme
- Supporting new medical schools to establish local Integrated Academic Training programmes
- Expanding the number of NIHR Incubators
New funding awards will also be created through:
- New programmes aimed at students, including a fully funded internship programme and an institutional award that offers regional research engagement programmes and funded masters places
- A new pre-application support fund to help underrepresented professions and groups to make the next step in their research career
- A new Team Science Award, and associated event, initially focused on multiple long-term conditions
Professor Waljit Dhillo, Dean of NIHR Academy said, ‘Alongside increased opportunities leveraged through existing programmes, we also want to put vastly increased effort into attracting and supporting underrepresented groups into a research career, including from when people first consider a career in research, as students.
Ultimately these changes will positively impact the whole of NIHR and the wider research ecosystem, increasing the talent pipeline of people progressing through to NIHR research programmes and leadership roles both in terms of numbers and diversity.’
These new initiatives will be developed over the course of 2023 with further announcements throughout the year. To keep up to date with these new programmes, sign up to the NIHR funding and support newsletter and follow us @NIHRCommunity
We are currently recruiting selection committee positions for some of these programmes, and more information can be found in committee vacancies.