Building Scotland’s green future: The inaugural Research Leadership Scheme cohort is announced
Thirteen of Scotland’s most promising academics, representing eleven Higher Education Institutions across the country, have been chosen as the inaugural cohort to take part in the RSE’s new Research Leadership Scheme, generously funded by the RSE Foundation and Caledonian Research Fund.
Aimed at supporting Scotland’s next generation of research leaders, the new Scheme will equip participants with the skills to lead major interdisciplinary research bids that address critical scientific and societal challenges.
As part of a two-year pilot, the Scheme will provide two small cohorts with structured support to build confidence, skills, and leadership capacity through a mixture of mentoring, seed-corn funding, training, and peer learning.
The first cohort, who represent a variety of disciplines, from geography to molecular crop science and public art and design to sustainable development, will work collaboratively around the theme of Building Scotland’s Green Future.
RSE Vice President, Research, Professor Anne Anderson OBE FRSE commented,
“The strength of Scotland’s research sector depends on nurturing talented people, and empowering them to lead with confidence, creativity, and ambition. This new Scheme is an important investment in that future. By bringing together researchers from diverse disciplines and supporting them to collaborate on some of the most pressing challenges of our time, the RSE hopes to help build the leadership capacity our country needs. I am delighted to see such an exceptional first cohort embark on this journey, and I look forward to following the positive impact they will undoubtedly make.”
2026 Research Leadership Scheme cohort:
Dr Róisín Buckley
Senior Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering, University of Glasgow
Dr Jennifer Clarke
Associate Professor at Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon University
Dr Benjamin Elliott
Lecturer in Archaeology, University of the Highlands and Islands
Dr Christopher Fremantle
Lecturer at Gray’s School of Art, Robert Gordon University
Dr Kirsten Jenkins
Senior Lecturer in Energy, Environment and Society, University of Edinburgh
Dr Kristin Konnyu
Lecturer in Implementation Science, University of Aberdeen
Dr Jun Li
Reader in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Strathclyde
Dr Leslie Mabon
Senior Lecturer in Environmental Systems, the Open University in Scotland
Dr Heather Price
Associate Professor in Geography, University of Stirling
Dr Annis Richardson
Senior Lecturer in Molecular Crop Science, University of Edinburgh
Dr Mazdak Salavati
Reader in Data Science, SRUC
Dr Stephanie Schreven
Senior Lecturer in Management and Organisational Behaviour, University of Dundee
Dr Richard Streeter
Senior Lecturer in the School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews
More on the Research Leadership Scheme:
Research leadership scheme
Read MoreThe research leadership scheme is a unique new scheme from the RSE, supporting Scotland’s next generation of research leaders.
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