International
Promoting collaboration
By forging effective partnerships with national academies, learned societies and international networks overseas, the RSE is helping to:
Committees
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Africa working group
Read MoreThe RSE Africa Working Group aims to strengthen ties between the RSE and African institutions, contributing to the advancement of science, education, and societal well-being on both continents.
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Asia Pacific Working Group
Read MoreThe RSE’s Asia Pacific Working Group (APWG) sits firmly within, and is underpinned by, the RSE’s wider commitment to addressing global challenges through international partnerships.
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Human rights advisory committee
Read MoreThe RSE appoints three advisors on Human Rights that in turn are a members of the UK & Ireland Academies Human Rights Committee (UKI HRC).
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International committee
Read MoreThe RSE International Committee aims to promote Scotland overseas through multilateral partnerships with national academies and networks.
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North America Working Group
Read MoreThe North America Working Group is underpinned by a wider commitment to addressing global challenges through international partnerships.
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UK & Ireland Human Rights Committee (UKI HRC)
Read MoreThe UKIHRC acts in support of academic freedom around the world through information-sharing, awareness-raising and advocacy.
Professor James Njuguna, Vice President, International
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is proud to uphold a tradition of international collaboration, forging connections that transcend borders and disciplines. In a world facing unprecedented challenges and uncertainty, these global partnerships are vital to ensuring the resilience, progress, and excellence of Scotland’s research landscape.
The RSE is committed to being a beacon of dialogue and trust — a place where ideas are freely exchanged, relationships are strengthened, and new opportunities for discovery and innovation are born. By deepening our ties with colleagues around the world, we affirm our shared commitment to advancing knowledge for the benefit of society everywhere.
Centrality statement for international partnerships
As Scotland’s National Academy, the Royal Society of Edinburgh is committed to ensuring that equity, inclusivity, and mutual respect underpin our partnerships and collaborative international activities. To support this commitment, the RSE’s International Programme has adopted the Centrality Framework (Fakunle, 2024) as a guiding approach for our international partnership agreements going forward (from July 2026).
International activity
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News
Report on Scottish higher education sector’s support for conflict settings
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News
New report highlights the bridges and barriers in Scotland–Africa HEI partnerships
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News
Connected Scotland welcomes German delegation to explore opportunities for collaboration
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Events
Human rights and climate change symposium
International funding
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RSE Fulbright Scholar Award
Read MoreThis annual award will offer an academic, from anywhere in the UK, the opportunity to go to a top university in the US for a maximum of three months to carry out lecturing and/or research.
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International Joint Projects
Read MoreFacilitate international collaboration between researchers based in Scotland with researchers overseas.
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International Bilateral Visits
Read MoreRSE International Bilateral Visits facilitate the collaboration between researchers from Scotland and those based in international institutions within countries with academies with which the RSE has a formal MoU.
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Scotland-Asia Partnerships Higher Education Research (SAPHIRE) Fund
Read MoreSAPHIRE is a grant with the aim of enhancing the existing international research partnerships between Scottish universities and partners in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, New Zealand, Singapore, and South Korea.
Case studies
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Supported by a Small Research Grant, neuroscientists Dr Fabien Naneix and Dr Kate Peters, undertake research to better understand how environmental factors affect the adolescent brain, and whether environmental enrichment can protect the adolescent brain from the harmful effects of high-fat, high-sugar diets.
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Academics involved in a Scotland-Taiwan research partnership have formally established an international collaboration scheme for research into the treatment of chronic pain.
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Early Scottish archaeology has long overlooked textiles because they rarely survive. RSE Personal Research Fellowship awardee Dr Susanna Harris’s research reveals that Bronze Age communities were producing sophisticated fabrics from plant fibres, wool, and horsehair. Discoveries such as a 3,000-year-old horsehair hat—the earliest known garment in Scotland—highlight textiles as a vital part of the nation’s prehistoric heritage.
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The 8th Scotland-Norway Waves & Marine Hydrodynamics Symposium was held at the Royal Society of Edinburgh on 22 and 23 October this year.
News
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Next generation of entrepreneurial academics to be supported by relaunched programme.
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Academics involved in a Scotland-Taiwan research partnership have formally established an international collaboration scheme for research into the treatment of chronic pain.
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A new report examines how researcher mobility in transatlantic research collaborations between Scotland, the United States, and Canada fosters resilience in the academic sector.
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Scotland and Malawi signed a landmark agreement to promote and strengthen cooperation between researchers across a diverse field of disciplines.
Resources
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Europe faces a trust crisis with the USA. Can strategic autonomy and deeper cooperation redefine its future in a shifting global order?
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The Spring/Summer 2026 edition of ReSourcE magazine explores the theme of trust – that of institutions, of norms, of healthcare, of one another.
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Why public trust and engagement are vital to the future of UK research and development and what CaSE’s polling reveals.
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This blog examines how mediation and peacemaking continue to bring opposing sides together, highlighting lessons from the Edinburgh Conversations.
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Contact us
For more information regarding the international programme, please contact the International team on: