Engineering Leaders Scholarship

Benefit

You get about 5,800 EUR (GBP 5,000) to spend over three years on career development, such as courses, training or projects that build your leadership skills. You also join a structured development programme. This includes a yearly training and networking weekend (usually September or October), a personal mentor who is a senior engineer at the Royal Academy of Engineering, invitations to Academy events, and access to an alumni network of over 300 engineers. The scholarship is run by the Royal Academy of Engineering and funded by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

If you meet extra criteria, you can apply at the same time for a Sir Ralph Robins Scholarship. This adds a further about 5,800 EUR (GBP 5,000) towards your living costs at university. Three are awarded each year and go to students from underrepresented backgrounds.

Eligibility

• Level: You study for a Bachelor's, MEng or a degree apprenticeship (a paid degree that combines study with work).
• Field of study: You study engineering or a closely related subject.
• University: You study at a UK university or college.
• Timing: You have at least two full-time years left before you graduate, counting the year you apply in. Year 1 or 2 of a three-year Bachelor's works, but not the final year.
• Residence: You normally live in the UK and pay UK home fees. Exchange students and international fee-payers cannot apply.
• Sir Ralph Robins add-on: For that extra award you must have attended a non-fee-paying secondary school. You must also meet one of these: you were eligible for free school meals, you are the first in your immediate family to attend university, or you spent time in local authority care.
• Encouraged to apply: The Academy especially welcomes women and Black, Asian and other minority ethnic students, including those at post-1992 universities.

How to apply

You apply online through the Academy's grant system with a written application and a short video message. The deadline for the 2026-2027 round is 4pm on 19 January 2027. Around 75 to 80 applicants (roughly 44%) are invited to an online interview of up to 30 minutes in March. Awardees are announced in April.

How realistic are your chances?

The eligibility is fairly broad, since any engineering undergraduate in the UK with two years left can apply. That makes the field competitive, and the sources put the overall success rate at about 10%. What sets applicants apart is clear evidence of leadership potential, not just good grades, because the whole programme is built around growing future engineering leaders. If you can show real leadership in an engineering project and fit the underrepresented-background criteria the Academy prioritises, your prospects improve.