Resources for Scientists and Researchers

Professional bodies with re-entry programmes

• Daphne Jackson Fellowships – Fellowships with mentoring and training to help people with STEM backgrounds to return after career break
• Medical Research Council – Research fellowships open to applicants with career break
• British Heart Foundation Career Re-entry Research Fellowships For a postdoctoral researcher returning after a career break of one or more years.
• Sanger Institute Fellowship Three year fellowship for postdocs who have been out of scientific research for one year or more to return to high-quality postdoctoral training. Full time, part time or flexible. The next round of recruitment for the Fellowship will commence in Summer 2023.
• For a longer list see WISE Campaign Funding & Scholarships

Professional associations and networks

• WISE Campaign
• WES 
• Mums in Science
• Royal Society of Biology – returners to bioscience group
• Equate Scotland – working for gender equality in SET and built environment
• MentorSET – one-to-one mentoring for women in and returning to STEM fields, co-ordinated by WES
• Royal Society of Chemistry careers support

Most societies offer reduced membership rates for people on a career break. The Society of Biology offers a 50% discount, the Society for General Microbiology offers full concessionary membership for those with an academic or professional interest in microbiology earning less than £35,000 (or equivalent) per year.

Some also offer bursaries to attend scientific conferences and events, updating both networks & knowledge.

• The Biochemical Society’s Stay Connected Bursary Scheme
• The Society for General Microbiology’s Inclusion Grant

Strategic Volunteering

• https://www.stem.org.uk/stem-ambassadors Volunteering opportunities with STEM.

Other resources

• Returners’ Guide to Research (UK): Published by Wellcome Trust to support people returning to research career
• Reboot Your STEM Career: Interactive toolkit  to help STEM professionals to relaunch their career after a break
• Returning to STEM: Free online course specifically designed to encourage people that have taken a career break back into STEM based roles.

Success stories

• Returning to scientific research (3 year break)
• Healthcare to scientific publishing (7 year break)
• Financial services to nutrition (8 year break)
• Daphne Jackson fellows’ stories

Back to Resources