The Royal Society of Edinburgh International Joint Projects 2026 (With up to £12,000 in Funding)

Published: April 03, 2026
Deadline: April 08, 2026
Category: PhD Grants Postdoctoral
Oppotunity Locations: Saint Kitts and Nevis

The Royal Society of Edinburgh is currently accepting applications for its International Joint Projects 2026. Interested applicants are encouraged to click here to learn more about this opportunity and apply for it.

About The Royal Society of Edinburgh International Joint Projects

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) offers funding to foster international research collaboration between Scotland-based researchers and overseas partners. The programme supports knowledge exchange, joint experimentation, and co-creation of research outputs across all academic disciplines.

Sponsor Organisation: Royal Society of Edinburgh

Benefits of The Royal Society of Edinburgh International Joint Projects

The RSE provides between £3,000 – £12,000. The collaborating institution is expected to provide the equivalent level of funding.

The Royal Society of Edinburgh International Joint Projects Requirements

The Scotland-based project lead should apply directly through the RSE. The overseas partner(s) should apply for funding from their associated institution, which will provide match funding (stream one) or through the participating Sister Academy (stream two).

For Scotland-based researchers:

Applicants should be eligible for the scheme at the point of application.
The Principal Investigator must be of at least postdoctoral status or equivalent.
The Principal Investigator and Scotland-based collaborators must be employed by a Scottish higher education institution, further education institution, research institute or cultural institution.
The number of participants per team is unrestricted, and PhD students may be included. The award value remains the same.

For International researchers:

The Principal Investigator must hold a postdoctoral degree or equivalent.
The Principal Investigator and overseas-based collaborators must be employed by a higher education institution, research institute, or cultural institution.

Applicants on short- or fixed-term contracts should ensure their contracts continue for at least 3 months beyond the end of the proposed project. Early Career Researchers on staged contracts to permanent lectureship positions are eligible for RSE International Joint Projects but must be in contract for the duration of the award.

Applicants may only make one application per round for RSE Small Research Grants, RSE Personal Research Fellowships, RSE Research Collaboration Grants, RSE International Joint Projects, and RSE International Bilateral Grants.

Applicants can submit a revised version of a previous unsuccessful application 12 months after the original submission. If doing so, the applicant must clearly articulate the key change(s) made.

Project eligibility

Projects can be held in all academic disciplines.
Applications will only be considered for bilateral, not multilateral, projects. The collaboration should be based on a single project, with one team based in Scotland and one team based in the partner institution.
Visits must take place in both directions. Travel should be for one return journey in both directions. In exceptional circumstances applicants may make the case that travel in either direction may require multiple return trips. Such cases will need to justify why one return trip in each direction will not suffice. The need for any in-person activity will need to be clearly justified.
Projects can be up to two years in length. There is no minimum project length.
Successful applicants should have a project start date between 1 September 2026 – 28 February 2027.
Any project changes must be approved by both the RSE and International partner institutions and academies.

Application Date and Process

The online application link below will become available when the award opens. Please follow these steps to apply:

Create a profile or log in here.
Once in your profile, access and complete the online application – the application form is only available when you are logged in. Google Chrome is the recommended browser.