Overview
Opportunity status: Open Funders: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Co-funders: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) Funding type: Grant Total fund: £5,900,000 Publication date: 8 September 2026 Opening date: 8 September 2026 9:00am UK time Closing date: 3 November 2026 4:00pm UK time Apply for funding for a skills hub to deliver high quality, cohort based doctoral training, and design of high-quality postgraduate level taught programmes in fire engineering EPSRC have up to £5.9 million funding available for this funding opportunity. As a non-full economic cost award, EPSRC will fund 100% of eligible costs listed in the funding opportunity. Estates and indirect costs will not be funded. To apply, an expression of interest must be completed by 1 October 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.
Complete research opportunity details
Description
Full Job Description
Opportunity status: Open
Funders:
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Co-funders: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)
Funding type: Grant
Total fund: £5,900,000
Publication date: 8 September 2026
Opening date:
8 September 2026 9:00am UK time
Closing date:
3 November 2026 4:00pm UK time
Apply for funding for a skills hub to deliver high quality, cohort based doctoral training, and design of high-quality postgraduate level taught programmes in fire engineering
EPSRC have up to £5.9 million funding available for this funding opportunity.
As a non-full economic cost award, EPSRC will fund 100% of eligible costs listed in the funding opportunity. Estates and indirect costs will not be funded.
To apply, an expression of interest must be completed by 1 October 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.
Eligibility
This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) individual eligibility rules apply. For full details, visit UKRI’s eligibility page.
Who Is Eligible To Apply
This funding opportunity is only open to higher education institutions.
Organisations can only apply as the lead organisation on one submitted application. However, organisations can be a collaborating organisation or project partner on any number of applications.
The lead organisation:
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will play a strategic leadership role in shaping the vision, skills priorities, and delivery model
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will lead submission of the application
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will act as the training grant holder if you are successful
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does not require doctoral research degree awarding powers, but an organisation with these powers must be present within your consortium
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must provide the principal base (host) for a minimum of one doctoral student per year of intake for this funding opportunity
Identification of the project lead should not be interpreted as recognition as the dominant partner, where the majority of funds are deployed or where the majority of doctoral studentships will be hosted.
While only one individual can be included as project lead on the UKRI Funding Service, UKRI welcomes applications that reflect flexible and joint leadership models.
EPSRC expects lead organisations to join with additional organisations, forming a consortium, in which other organisations could also host doctoral students or support delivery of the wider skills hub. You are encouraged to engage effectively with other organisations to ensure the:
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development of the level 7 (or equivalent) training courses, including continuing professional development training for members of the consortium and potentially shared more widely
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delivery of a truly interdisciplinary training environment and experience for doctoral students. Any organisations hosting students must be named as collaborating organisations on your application
Project co-leads are welcome at either the lead organisation or collaborating organisations. Project leads and co-leads may include:
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research technical professionals
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innovation and commercialisation professionals
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research software engineers
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professional training and programme managers, where they play an integral role in programme delivery
More information is available on roles in funding applications.
Project Partners
Organisations may also act as project partners on your application. Unlike collaborating organisations or subcontractors who can receive funds from the grant, project partners can make direct or indirect contributions to the grant and cannot receive funds from it.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government do not require financial contributions from project partners in this funding opportunity but encourage you to develop new or existing links and partnerships with the fire engineering industry and public sector organisations.
Information regarding the nature of these collaborations must be included within your application in the ‘Project partners’ section. Any organisation acting as a project partner may do so on any number of applications, as long as they are able to support them all if funded.
An organisation cannot, on the same application, act as a project partner and as a lead or collaborating organisation.
We welcome applications to include a wide range of project partner organisations contributing to research and skills training. This can include, but is not limited to:
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universities that are not leading or co-leading the application
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businesses of all scales
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public sector organisations, such as public sector research establishments and government at all levels, including devolved administrations
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third sector organisations
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other key stakeholders across the research and innovation landscape
Your application must demonstrate that there is significant added value from any project partners you choose to form part of your consortium. Examples include:
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hosting work experience, placements, venture building activities or similar
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co-supervision or mentoring
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training for students, programme staff, or both
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access to facilities, infrastructure, data, customers or markets
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delivery of training, including on entrepreneurship, venture creation or commercialisation
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commitment to cover the costs of access to facilities or training that cannot otherwise be provided
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strategic links to an important stakeholder or user
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supporting employees into doctoral study
There is no limit to the total number of organisations you may include within your application. However, each member of the consortium must make meaningful contributions to the delivery of the training provision, as set out in your application.
International Researchers
The UKRI-RCN Money Follows Cooperation Agreement does not apply to this funding opportunity. As such grants submitted to this funding opportunity cannot include a Norway-based project co-lead (international).
You should include all international collaborators (or UK partners not based at approved organisations) as project partners.
Resubmissions
We will not accept uninvited resubmissions of projects that have been submitted to UKRI or any other funder.
Find out more about EPSRC’s resubmissions policy.
Equality, Diversity And Inclusion
We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity for all funding applicants. We encourage applications from a diverse range of researchers.
We support people to work in a way that suits their personal circumstances. This includes:
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career breaks
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support for people with caring responsibilities
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flexible working
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alternative working patterns
UKRI can offer disability and accessibility support for UKRI applicants and grant holders during the application and assessment process.
Demand Management
Demand management is being applied to this funding opportunity. Organisations can only apply as the lead organisation on one submitted application.
Aim
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report makes a number of recommendations relating to the fire engineering profession, which the government has accepted in full, including establishing an independent body to regulate the profession in title and function and to take urgent steps to increase the number of places on master’s level courses.
The government is acting to implement these recommendations. In December 2025, it published the Fire Engineers Advisory Panel’s Authoritative Statement, setting out the knowledge and skills expected of a competent fire engineer. Alongside this, it published the Next steps on fire engineering profession reform setting out the next steps we will take to implement the recommendations concerning fire engineers.
These next steps include how it will increase the fire engineering workforce. In March, we announced £15 million that will make a significant contribution to building the pipeline into the profession.
As part of this package, this funding opportunity provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) aims to strengthen the capacity and capability of the fire engineering profession through both education provision and research capability.
EPSRC are one of two delivery partners secured by MHCLG to deliver fire engineering skills development and training. The funding will be distributed by each partner as detailed below:
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Royal Academy of Engineering will manage the provision of scholarships for taught Master’s level, innovative routes for future recruitment and other campaigns to enhance the recognition of fire engineering as a profession and attract entrants to the profession
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EPSRC is leading the coordination of the allocation of funding for the development of level 7 including continuing professional development (CPD) programmes and doctoral studentships through a skills hub model
A skills hub will develop the skills and capabilities of the next generation of fire engineering practitioners, researchers and innovators.
It will address the skills gaps and differing levels of training provision across the UK Fire Engineering community and adjacent professions.
It will provide leadership in research, through the funding of new doctoral studentships, and will coordinate and support the development of new and updated level 7 provision for training master’s students, doctoral students and supporting the wider continuing professional development of the UK fire engineering community.
Scope
The funding is provided as part of the UK Government Building Workforce programme designed to increase capacity and capability of safety critical professions which includes fire engineering.
There are three elements for the skills and training provided by this funding:
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a doctoral training programme to support the next generation of researchers in fire engineering through a cohort based, highly tailored training programme
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the development of taught postgraduate (level 7) development programmes for the fire engineering community with innovative modes of study to cater for a range of audiences
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the development of level 7 fire engineering continuing professional development training for the wider fire engineering community and adjacent professions wishing to upskill or re-train into fire engineering
You must deliver all the above elements.
We welcome applications from multi organisational consortia which bring together expertise in fire engineering. Consortia can be new collaborations, as well as applications that expand on existing doctoral training investments. Cohesion across the consortium must be demonstrated in the application, including a clear case for the given size of their consortia.
You will be expected to work in collaboration with the ongoing work:
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to underpin future regulation and reform of the fire engineering profession
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of the regulator responsible for the accreditation of education programmes
You are expected to:
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deliver specialist fire engineering teaching capacity with recognition given to the government’s commitment to fire safety strategy being the central, protected function of the profession
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provide emphasis on the ethical practice fundamental to ensuring life safety
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demonstrable fire engineering research capability sufficient to support research-led teaching, dissertation supervision, and engagement with emerging fire safety challenges, including the ability to contribute to the future development of the profession
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deliver assessment of students’ ability to apply fire engineering knowledge to realistic design, risk and regulatory scenarios
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provide evidence that students develop skills necessary to work effectively within multidisciplinary design, construction and regulatory environments
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show clear routes towards accreditation or professional recognition
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develop meaningful links with industry, professional bodies, and the fire sector
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demonstrate credible plans for financial sustainability including plans beyond the funding period
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evidence that provision will widen access across geography, career stage (including accessibility for those in work), and student background
In addition, support should prioritise courses that align with the Fire Engineers Advisory Panel’s Authoritative Statement. The proposed skills hub should provide foundational scientific and engineering knowledge alongside specific learning in fire engineering principles and practice. This should include the development and stewardship of the fire safety strategy, ethical professional conduct, fire dynamics, prevention, human behaviour, building structures, systems and operations, fire-fighting needs, and good analytical and communication skills.
Doctoral Training Programme
Expectations for the doctoral training element of this funding opportunity will include the following:
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to support up to two cohorts on a four-year doctorate, bringing together a critical mass of academic and industrial supervisors of internationally recognised research excellence with a track record of doctoral supervision
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for the one to two skills hubs funded we expect to support at least 18 students
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entrants onto the doctoral training programme should normally have completed a masters (MEng or MSc) or equivalent qualification in a relevant engineering or scientific discipline. The degree must be accredited by the Engineering Council or an equivalent body
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to develop a cohort approach to doctoral education including peer-to-peer learning, within the cohort. Students may also work as a cohort to address research challenges
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to nurture a diverse and inclusive research environment to support people in achieving world class research
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to provide opportunities for significant, challenging, and original research projects leading to the award of a doctoral-level degree in accordance with a university’s standard regulations. Universities are free to choose the type of research doctoral qualification that is offered to students, for example PhD or EngD. You may choose to offer all students the same type of qualification or a mixture, and to consider innovative approaches to delivering, awarding and assessing doctoral degrees
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students should also expect that doctoral projects are designed or planned in such a way that (barring exceptional circumstances) they are able to submit their thesis within their four-year funded period or part-time equivalent
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where needed, consider the delivery of suitable, taught activities which would develop and enhance, for example, technical disciplinary and multidisciplinary knowledge, as well as broadening skills including, for example, project management, entrepreneurship and commercialisation
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to embed a culture of responsible research and innovation, environmental sustainability, equality, diversity and inclusion, trusted research approaches and support for student wellbeing to the highest standard
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to provide opportunities for students to engage with industrial and government stakeholders, for example in the form of joint supervision, industrial placements or expert advice and input. This could also take the form of the co-creation of doctoral projects. The training should maximise the impact from this investment and grow capacity in this area for the benefit of the nation. If pursuing industrial placements, the management team will need to ensure students are given sufficient time to complete their doctoral studies
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as appropriate, to provide innovative approaches to doctoral study. This may include support for students who are based in non-academic organisations for the majority of their time, either receiving a stipend or by contributing to their salary. Where beneficial for the research area, student or project partner, we expect applicants to build on routes such as engineering doctorates and the innovative approaches in EPSRC centres for doctoral training, doctoral training partnership mobility pilots, or other recent UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) training investments
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to create opportunities for supervisors and students to identify and align synergies between individual doctoral projects so that the sum of the activity is greater than its component parts
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to support mechanisms, where appropriate, by which students can reach out to the broader research community, user community and wider public
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to add value to the UK’s existing landscape by working with other large investments to develop an integrated network of research, innovation and skills capability
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to provide appropriate access to a wide range of equipment, facilities and e-infrastructure, for example, software and high-performance computing. Students should benefit from the environment and accessibility of infrastructure at the hosting institutions and partners. If appropriate to their research, students should also have access to large facilities and UKRI national research facilities
Whilst not an exclusive list, the areas of skills for doctoral research could include:
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fire safety strategy
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egress modelling of evacuation lifts
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advancing instrumentation for external wall fire testing
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a decision framework for identifying and managing built environment risks
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the role of smouldering in fire safety design for mass timber structures
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from disaster to foresight: a framework for identifying future building safety threats
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fire resistance and structural resilience in modern methods of construction
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understanding the long-term performance of fire-retardant treatments
Postgraduate Level 7 Including Continuing Professional Development (Cpd) Programme Development
The funding provided for the post-graduate (level 7) programmes including CPD programme development is intended to coordinate and support, across the collaborating institutions of the skills hub, the development of new and the updating of existing level 7 standalone taught master’s programmes or shorter courses. Provision should include modules for master’s or part-master’s (PG Cert, PD Dip) level, micro-credentials, stand-alone modules to support the CPD of those in employment.
The funding is also intended to support the upskilling and level 7 CPD of existing professionals in employment in the UK fire engineering sector or other related disciplines, including bridging and conversion modules. Bridging modules and conversion pathways aimed at those who have studied or are working in related disciplines, for example:
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mechanical engineering
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structural engineering
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civil engineering
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architecture
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building services engineering
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physics, construction management.
Both postgraduate-level 7 including CDP programmes must be credit-bearing and include some form of assessment.
Duration
Applications must have a maximum duration of 60 months with respect to doctoral training. The post-graduate (level 7) programmes including CPD programme development funding must be spent by end of March 2029.
For Doctoral Studentships Only
Where the end date of an individual studentship is subsequently extended later than the end date of the grant, in line with training grant conditions six and eight, award holders will be able to apply to EPSRC at the time to extend the grant, which may be beyond 60 months. Projects must start no earlier than 1 April 2027 and no later than 1 October 2027. Awards will have a fixed start date, on the date requested in the application.
Funding Available
£5.9 million funding in total is available to support up to two skills hubs delivering a combination of doctoral training, level 7 post-graduate development programmes including CPD training programmes.
Applicants requesting the full £5.9 million available must demonstrate coverage of the full scope of this funding opportunity and include key institutions delivering post graduate training in fire engineering.
As a training grant (non-full economic cost award), EPSRC will fund 100% of eligible costs listed in the opportunity. Eligible costs vary between EPSRC training grants, so please check the ‘What we will fund’ and ‘What we will not fund’ sections for full details.
All costs (including stipends and fees) requested in applications should be calculated at your chosen October 2026 rates with no addition made to consider inflation over the length of the funding period. This includes the appropriate fee rate for your institution(s) and any enhanced stipend rates above the UKRI minimum, described below. UKRI will include an allowance for fee and stipend indexation at the final funding stage.
Doctoral Training
We will fund doctoral studentship costs up to a maximum of the equivalent of 18 students. This could be, for example, 100% funding for 18 students or 50% funding for 36 students.
Students will be funded across a maximum of two cohorts.
Applications must specify the number of students that will be supported. This should align to the proposed delivery model and costs per studentship proposed in the application.
Please complete the costings template. Justifications for costs, numbers of students, durations of studentships will be examined carefully to ensure value for money.
UKRI funding for studentship costs includes the following.
Fees charged to UKRI cannot be higher than the fee charged by the university for home funded students on similar programmes.
UKRI’s standard 30% cap on international students will apply.
The stipends must be at least at the minimum rates published by UKRI. We will not cover additional college fees. You are encouraged to request funding for enhanced stipends, where justified, to attract UK home students in the context of the area of research and training and UK skills need.
Given the importance of establishing increased capability and research capacity in fire engineering in the UK, you may, for example, choose to set stipends comparable to the HESA graduate outcomes survey salary data for engineering and technology, adjusted to an October 2026 equivalent and taking into account that the stipend is not taxed. EPSRC’s estimate of this is £29,500 or £7,500 above the UKRI minimum.
Stipend support will also be covered for doctoral candidates based for the majority of their time in a company, or other non-academic organisation. If you are proposing more innovative options, such as contributions to salaries, you are encouraged to contact EPSRC before submission, to discuss the best route to fund this. You must ensure at all times that training grant funding is compliant with the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
This covers items for individual students such as travel, consumables, and facility access where this is linked to conducting the research of the project, or specialised training such as a summer school only being attended by a student due to their project.
As well as the studentship costs above, we will also fund other costs including:
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leadership and management costs, where these are specific and proportionate to the delivery of the award
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direct costs that are explicitly linked to training activities and student development
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additional support needed to facilitate diversity and mobility of career paths, and to accommodate doctoral students at different career stages or employed in relevant industrial sectors
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wider career development experience for students
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innovative routes for student recruitment and widening the participation of underrepresented groups in doctoral study
Postgraduate Level 7 Including Cpd Programme Development
We will fund the following costs with respect to postgraduate level 7 including CPD programme development.
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academic and technical experts time for the proposed programme development
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leadership and management costs, where these are specific and proportionate to the delivery of the award
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lab time and the cost of equipment to support the delivery of research-oriented taught programmes (not pure research) to a maximum value of £400,000 per consortium. Funding for equipment covers items between £25,000 and £400,000. Items under £25,000 are not considered equipment
If successful you will have flexibility in how you use the funding awarded and we encourage flexibility and virement between headings, subject to the standard UKRI terms and conditions for training grants. The only exception will be where UKRI makes separate awards to lead and collaborating organisations to reflect subsidy control considerations, where there will be limitations on viring across separate awards.
What We Will Not Fund
We will not fund the following costs:
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direct costs associated with applying for intellectual property (IP) protection (including patent filing costs)
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costs associated with student supervision
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visa and international health surcharge costs for international students
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estates and indirect costs
Supporting Skills And Talent
We encourage you to follow the principles of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers and the Technician Commitment.
Equality, Diversity And Inclusion (Edi)
EDI is a core feature of this funding opportunity, in line with UKRI’s principles on EDI. We want to work with our partners to shape a dynamic, diverse, and inclusive system of research and innovation that is an integral part of society.
Your doctoral training programme should work to provide everyone involved with an opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, the award.
You should provide a brief summary at the application stage of how your EDI strategy will embed the core principles of EDI at all levels and across all aspects of the award, including:
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increasing access to doctoral study, including recruitment
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working practices, including individualised student support
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wellbeing support, including mental health
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monitoring and evaluation, including a baseline and plans for improvement
We will require successful applicants to develop detailed EDI strategies, activities and commitments. These will be regularly reviewed by UKRI. Data will be collected on at least a yearly basis via annual reports, and we will reserve the right to access these data across the lifetime of the award. For more information see the UKRI data collection policy.
You should also refer to equality, diversity and inclusion at UKRI and EPSRC EDI action plan 2026 to 2029.
Legacy And Impact
Training programmes which are supported by this funding opportunity are done so with the intention of developing a legacy of training excellence. Applications must demonstrate consideration of the legacy and impacts of the doctoral training programme beyond the lifetime of the UKRI investment.
Reporting Requirements And Monitoring
We expect award holders to monitor progress towards the vision and objectives of your programme, as well as evidence impact from this investment.
This information will be used by EPSRC to review the success of our training investments. Information provided will also be used to provide assurance that awards are being managed appropriately and are progressing in accordance with the original funding application. This will be conducted in various ways, including:
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mandatory annual reports
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a mid-term review of progress
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hosting a regular visit by EPSRC staff
Successful applicants will be expected to respond to other reporting requirements when requested.
We will use key information required from the training programmes supported by this funding opportunity in reports and publications.
You are expected to describe your approach to monitoring and evaluation, outlining your success measures and baselines and a continuous improvement process built in within your applications.
Trusted Research And Innovation (Tr&I)
UKRI is committed in ensuring that effective international collaboration in research and innovation takes place with integrity and within strong ethical frameworks. Trusted Research and Innovation (TR&I) is a UKRI work programme designed to help protect all those working in our thriving and collaborative international sector by enabling partnerships to be as open as possible, and as secure as necessary. Our TR&I Principles set out UKRI’s expectations of organisations funded by UKRI in relation to due diligence for international collaboration.
As such, applicants for UKRI funding may be asked to demonstrate how their proposed projects will comply with our approach and expectation towards TR&I, identifying potential risks and the relevant controls you will put in place to help proportionately reduce these risks.
See further guidance and information about TR&I, including where applicants can find additional support.
Expression Of Interest (Eoi)
This funding opportunity has a mandatory EOI stage. This will enable EPSRC to prepare for the assessment process. Any applications without an EOI will be rejected.
Please submit your EOI via Citizen Space. The deadline for submission of an EOI is 1 October 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.
The EOI should include:
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contact details for the project lead
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contact details for others involved in the application, including a contact for the lead organisation’s research office
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the title of your proposed fire engineering skills hub
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other organisations that are expected to be involved in delivering the skills hub, including the lead organisation and any confirmed or likely collaborating organisations
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the thematic areas your training programme will cover (approximately 200 words)
Only the lead organisation should submit an EOI. Universities must discuss with their university research office before submitting an EOI.
Your EOI will not be assessed externally. It will be used by EPSRC to plan the assessment process. We will only contact you if we require any clarifications or have any concerns about whether the proposed work is in scope and remit for this funding opportunity. We intend to publish the details of the project lead, lead institution, institutions involved in the consortium and the summary provided of each expression of interest.
Only applications that have submitted an EOI will be permitted to submit a full application.
Full Proposals Stage
We are running this funding opportunity on the new UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Funding Service, so please ensure that your organisation is registered. You cannot apply on the Joint Electronic Submissions (Je-S) system.
The project lead is responsible for completing the application process on the Funding Service, but we expect all team members and project partners to contribute to the application.
Only the lead research organisation can submit an application to UKRI. Please refer to the eligibility sections on the UKRI website to ensure that your organisation and applicants are eligible for UKRI funding. Check if your organisation is eligible.
To Apply
Select ‘Start application’ near the beginning of this Funding finder page.
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Confirm you are the project lead.
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Sign in or create a Funding Service account. To create an account, select your organisation, verify your email address, and set a password.
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Answer questions directly in the text boxes. You can save your answers and come back to complete them or work offline and return to copy and paste your answers. If we need you to upload a document, follow the upload instructions in the Funding Service. All questions and assessment criteria are listed in the How to apply section on this Funding finder page.
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Allow enough time to check your application in ‘read-only’ view before sending to your research office.
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Send the completed application to your research office for checking. They will return it to you if it needs editing.
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Your research office will submit the completed and checked application to UKRI.
Please be aware that research office and finance teams undertake checks on hosting arrangements and financial eligibility. The ultimate responsibility for ensuring compliance with all opportunity requirements lies with the applicant.
Where indicated, you can also demonstrate elements of your responses in visual form if relevant.
When including images, you must:
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provide a descriptive caption or legend for each image immediately underneath it in the text box (this must be outside the image and counts towards your word limit)
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insert each new image onto a new line
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use files smaller than 5MB and in JPEG, JPG, JPE, JFI, JIF, JFIF, PNG, GIF, BMP or WEBP format
Images should only be used to convey important visual information that cannot easily be put into words. The following are not permitted, and your application will be rejected if you include:
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sentences or paragraphs of text
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tables
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excessive quantities of images
A few words are permitted where the image would lack clarity without the contextual words, such as a diagram, where text labels are required for an axis or graph column.
For more guidance on the Funding Service, see:
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how applicants use the Funding Service
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how research offices use the Funding Service
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how reviewers use the Funding Service
References
References should be included within the word count of the appropriate question section. You should use your discretion when including references and prioritise those most pertinent to the application.
Hyperlinks can be used in reference information. When including references, you should consider how your references will be viewed and used by the assessors, ensuring that:
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references are easily identifiable by the assessors
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references are formatted as appropriate to your research
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persistent identifiers are used where possible
General Use Of Hyperlinks
Applications should be self-contained. You should only use hyperlinks to link directly to reference information. You must not include links to web resources to extend your application. Assessors are not required to access links to conduct assessment or recommend a funding decision.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (Ai)
Use of generative AI tools to prepare funding applications is permitted, however, caution should be applied.
For more information see our policy on the use of generative AI in application and assessment.
Deadline
EPSRC must receive your application by 3 November 2026 at 4:00pm UK time.
You will not be able to apply after this time.
Make sure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines.
Following the submission of your application to this funding opportunity, your application cannot be changed, and submitted applications will not be amended. If your application does not follow the guidance, it may be rejected.
If an application is withdrawn prior to peer review or office rejected due to substantive errors in the application, it cannot be resubmitted to the opportunity.
Requirements and qualifications This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) individual eligibility rules apply. For full details, visit UKRI’s eligibility page.
This funding opportunity is only open to higher education institutions.
Organisations can only apply as the lead organisation on one submitted application. However, organisations can be a collaborating organisation or project partner on any number of applications.
The lead organisation:
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will play a strategic leadership role in shaping the vision, skills priorities, and delivery model
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will lead submission of the application
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will act as the training grant holder if you are successful
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does not require doctoral research degree awarding powers, but an organisation with these powers must be present within your consortium
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must provide the principal base (host) for a minimum of one doctoral student per year of intake for this funding opportunity
Identification of the project lead should not be interpreted as recognition as the dominant partner, where the majority of funds are deployed or where the majority of doctoral studentships will be hosted.
While only one individual can be included as project lead on the UKRI Funding Service, UKRI welcomes applications that reflect flexible and joint leadership models.
EPSRC expects lead organisations to join with additional organisations, forming a consortium, in which other organisations could also host doctoral students or support delivery of the wider skills hub. You are encouraged to engage effectively with other organisations to ensure the:
-
development of the level 7 (or equivalent) training courses, including continuing professional development training for members of the consortium and potentially shared more widely
-
delivery of a truly interdisciplinary training environment and experience for doctoral students. Any organisations hosting students must be named as collaborating organisations on your application
Project co-leads are welcome at either the lead organisation or collaborating organisations. Project leads and co-leads may include:
-
research technical professionals
-
innovation and commercialisation professionals
-
research software engineers
-
professional training and programme managers, where they play an integral role in programme delivery
More information is available on roles in funding applications.
We expect award holders to monitor progress towards the vision and objectives of your programme, as well as evidence impact from this investment.
This information will be used by EPSRC to review the success of our training investments. Information provided will also be used to provide assurance that awards are being managed appropriately and are progressing in accordance with the original funding application. This will be conducted in various ways, including:
-
mandatory annual reports
-
a mid-term review of progress
-
hosting a regular visit by EPSRC staff
Successful applicants will be expected to respond to other reporting requirements when requested.
We will use key information required from the training programmes supported by this funding opportunity in reports and publications.
You are expected to describe your approach to monitoring and evaluation, outlining your success measures and baselines and a continuous improvement process built in within your applications.
Eligibility requirements
This opportunity is open to organisations with standard eligibility. Check if your organisation is eligible.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) individual eligibility rules apply. For full details, visit UKRI’s eligibility page.
This funding opportunity is only open to higher education institutions.
Organisations can only apply as the lead organisation on one submitted application. However, organisations can be a collaborating organisation or project partner on any number of applications.
The lead organisation:
-
will play a strategic leadership role in shaping the vision, skills priorities, and delivery model
-
will lead submission of the application
-
will act as the training grant holder if you are successful
-
does not require doctoral research degree awarding powers, but an organisation with these powers must be present within your consortium
-
must provide the principal base (host) for a minimum of one doctoral student per year of intake for this funding opportunity
Identification of the project lead should not be interpreted as recognition as the dominant partner, where the majority of funds are deployed or where the majority of doctoral studentships will be hosted.
While only one individual can be included as project lead on the UKRI Funding Service, UKRI welcomes applications that reflect flexible and joint leadership models.
EPSRC expects lead organisations to join with additional organisations, forming a consortium, in which other organisations could also host doctoral students or support delivery of the wider skills hub. You are encouraged to engage effectively with other organisations to ensure the:
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development of the level 7 (or equivalent) training courses, including continuing professional development training for members of the consortium and potentially shared more widely
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delivery of a truly interdisciplinary training environment and experience for doctoral students. Any organisations hosting students must be named as collaborating organisations on your application
Project co-leads are welcome at either the lead organisation or collaborating organisations. Project leads and co-leads may include:
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research technical professionals
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innovation and commercialisation professionals
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research software engineers
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professional training and programme managers, where they play an integral role in programme delivery
More information is available on roles in funding applications.
We expect award holders to monitor progress towards the vision and objectives of your programme, as well as evidence impact from this investment.
This information will be used by EPSRC to review the success of our training investments. Information provided will also be used to provide assurance that awards are being managed appropriately and are progressing in accordance with the original funding application. This will be conducted in various ways, including:
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mandatory annual reports
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a mid-term review of progress
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hosting a regular visit by EPSRC staff
Successful applicants will be expected to respond to other reporting requirements when requested.
We will use key information required from the training programmes supported by this funding opportunity in reports and publications.
You are expected to describe your approach to monitoring and evaluation, outlining your success measures and baselines and a continuous improvement process built in within your applications.
Tips for this phd opportunity
Practical Job and Scholarship guidance. These tips do not replace official rules or create new eligibility requirements.
- Match your research background to the project, laboratory, supervisor and required methods rather than applying only from the title.
- Prepare a focused academic CV, transcripts, publications and research statement or proposal when requested by the official call.
- Confirm funding duration, stipend/salary, tuition coverage, start date and eligibility for international applicants.
- Contact a supervisor before applying only when the official instructions recommend or require it.
Verification notes
Extracted from a public opportunity page using specific title, application/deadline, eligibility and benefit signals. Aggregator/news pages remain review-controlled unless an official provider page is successfully verified. Complete structured details were extracted from the public authoritative source while preserving the original application link.
Job and Scholarship is the discovery and verification layer. Confirm eligibility, dates, salary/funding and application instructions on the original source before submitting anything.
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