Applications for the 2026 cohort of CoSeC Fellows are now open.

The Computational Science Centre for Research Communities (CoSeC) is a national Centre run by UKRI’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). As a component of the UK’s National Laboratories, it sits within STFC’s Scientific Computing department where it draws from a 300+ strong team of Research Technical Professionals. The Centre has been an integral part of the Collaborative Computational Project (CCP) model for the past five decades, delivering collaborative work around domain-specific research software development, support, and training. Over the coming years, CoSeC will enable the CCP model across UKRI, highlighting the power of organised networking for computational research. For more details about CoSeC and its activities please see Appendix A.

In 2024, CoSeC welcomed its first cohort of CoSeC Fellows, and will now open a call for a third cohort in 2026. Each Fellow will become an ambassador for the Centre, highlighting the benefits of CoSeC and the CCP model,  making scientists and researchers aware of the world leading activities undertaken through the Centre’s work. CoSeC Fellows will help to highlight the work of CoSeC in supporting the advancement of computational research by developing and strengthening software to analyse and solve complex problems in multiple disciplines across the remits of all UKRI councils.

What the Fellowship involves:

CoSeC Fellows will each be awarded funding of up to £3000 and be able to access, and learn from, interactions across a wide range of research areas. Fellows will gain experience of working in a world-leading scientific environment, increasing their skills and knowledge. They will have the opportunity to raise their own personal profile and have the prospect of creating future educational and employment openings as they develop their careers.  

Eligibility:

This process is open to all, with eligibility being determined at the panel review stage in accordance with UKRI eligibility rules. We particularly encourage applications  from under-represented groups as well as early career researchers in academia, industry or other eligible settings. Proposals should make it clear why the applicant feels their work will impact CoSeC and its communities, they should also make clear in what professional capacity they are applying, highlighting as much detail as possible to ensure the panel is able to accurately determine personal eligibility. We are passionate about creating a diverse workforce and positively encourage applications from all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from women and minority groups to help increase their representation across computational research.

To Apply:

Applicants will need to complete an online form which outlines the specific goals and outcomes they would like to achieve as a CoSeC Fellow, as guided by one or more of CoSeC’s high-level goals:

• Implement relevant aspects from the DSIT Future of Compute Review to create a long-term coordinated and coherent computational capability for the UK. CoSeC to be a focal point and hub for CCP and HEC activity, sustaining, guiding and creating new communities. This builds on the activities of existing communities, encouraging them to explore the wide spectrum of UKRI’s research domains beyond their own. At the same time, it allows for the creation of new communities centred around research software. The outputs of these communities are integral within CoSeC through its collaborative technical work and in the way that they are integrated back into the Centre’s cross-cutting capabilities.
• Ensure the UK has the right codes to take advantage of accelerator-based systems. The UKRI Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) federated computing infrastructure landscape is heterogeneous. To maximise potential, the UK’s research codes must effectively work across as much of this as possible, while making the best use of specialist hardware where appropriate. A key aspect of this are GPU accelerators which form a key aspect of all upcoming DRI investments in the UK.
• Expand the user base of computational services to all UKRI’s communities. CoSeC will use its funding, combined with its widespread influence to ensure that the CCP model is spread across UKRI. Alongside this, the Centre will develop its own internal capabilities around delivery of training, and centralised skills and knowledge for key topics like AI, Quantum Computing and FAIR Data to provide wide access and knowledge exchange across UKRI.

Applicants will be selected by a panel of experts and researchers within the Centre, based on submissions through an online application form and scored against a list of pre-determined criteria.

The form will request the following information:

• Personal information about you (such as name and contact information) and demographic information.
• Information about where you work and your domain, field, and/or area of work.
• Information about your research/work.
• Information about financial support for your research/work.
• Information about your plans for the Fellowship if selected.

Award:

Fellows may utilise their funding in several ways. Examples include:

• Attendance at relevant events such as the CoSeC Communities Forum or specific community meetings, with the expectation being that a Fellow would be actively engaged in some form of knowledge exchange or dissemination.
• Organising or attending wider events that develop good working practices and highlight the goals and input of CoSeC.
• Running idea factory events to identify important cross-cutting topics or explore new ideas and set roadmaps.

Examples of expenditure that will not be approved include:

• Personal travel unrelated to CoSeC activities
• Purchase of items such as laptops, iPads and mobile phones
• Provision of alcohol at organised events

A full set of terms and conditions can be viewed on the CoSeC website.

Each Fellow will be given a presence on CoSeC’s website and visibility through STFC’s impact generation platforms such as CoSeC blog posts and CoSeC and UKRI/STFC social media.

Following selection, each Fellow will be awarded a package of financial support up to the value of £3000 over a 15-month period alongside excellent networking opportunities, professional support and advice. This funding will be provided on demand to support each Fellow’s proposed activities and in each case will agree an output to be provided back to CoSeC.

The end of the 15-month term does not mean the end of the Fellowship, CoSeC intends to operate a “Once a Fellow, always a Fellow” approach, building a supportive and engaging environment to encourage future growth and interaction with our Fellows and opportunities to engage and network with future cohorts.

Timeline:

1 July 2026: Applications open for the 2026 CoSeC Fellow cohort.

31 August 2026: Deadline for applications – application process closes.

1 October 2026: 2026 CoSeC Fellows confirmed – 15-month term begins.

31 December 2027: 2026 CoSeC Fellows cohort term ends.

Please Note: successful applicants will be required to invoice CoSeC for their funding as required throughout the 15-month term of the fellowship. CoSeC will not transfer the funding in one lump sum at the start of the fellowship term.

We expect successful Fellows to be able to actively engage in-person within CoSeC’s research communities. This is likely to include virtual and in-person interactions with communities in the UK or with CoSeC itself.

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APPENDIX A

The Computational Science Centre for Research Communities (CoSeC) enables and supports collaborative computational research communities that are funded across UKRI. Its mission is to deliver research software as an infrastructure to enable world-class UK Research and Innovation.

The communities are designed using multiple structures, including Collaborative Computational Projects (CCPs) and High-End Computing (HEC) Consortia. The Centre is run by UKRI STFC Scientific Computing and is made up of a core Programme Office plus a large team of Research Technical Professionals organised into domain-specific technical teams.

The Centre plays a central role within UKRI’s Digital Research Infrastructure in terms of coordinating and representing the needs of computational researchers, practically this means:  

• Development of theory, algorithms, and research software: This is a key driver for computational communities, resulting in long-term, continued expansion and updating of the UK’s research software capability.
• Landscape scanning and road mapping: Ensuring that the future of computational research technology and approaches are embedded in the plans of the UK’s collaborative computational communities. This includes identifying and championing key aspects of nationally relevant topics such as Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing.
• Maintenance, distribution, license management, dissemination and demonstration of research software.  
• User support and technical training: Including domain-specific support within a community as well as collaborative organisation of wider events such as summer schools, study retreats, or hackathons.
• Porting, optimisation, and benchmarking for HPC and new architectures: as an integral element of UKRI’s DRI, CoSeC and the HEC communities work together to ensure the UK’s research software is fit to best exploit its national computing infrastructure.
• Management of research data: Development of visualisation and workflow management tools, database and curation activities, and verification and validation activities. Ensuring that the principles of FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) data are fundamental within computational research.
• Embedding environmentally sustainable research software at the core of the UK’s digital research infrastructure.
• Coordination and network development: Working with the community Chairs help to generate nationally important impact and outputs.
• Careers: Working with the communities, refine and champion the Research Technical Professional (RTP) career pathway within the UKRI landscape, creating opportunities both within CoSeC and across the communities and identifying challenges and opportunities related to equality, diversity and inclusion.

The CoSeC technical teams are embedded across UKRI STFC’s Scientific Computing department and are based at the Daresbury (Cheshire) and Rutherford Appleton (Oxfordshire) National Laboratories within the UK. Scientific Computing organises itself into themes and CoSeC draws on these across related, relevant fields such as engineering, biology, materials, mathematics, software engineering, data management, and artificial intelligence.