Cambridge NeuroWorks is proud to introduce the Cambridge NeuroWorks Fellowship Programme, and we are inviting you to apply for one of two transformative fellowship streams in this pioneering initiative. This Fellowship programme, powered through our partnership with the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), is one part of a much wider collaboration that is seeking to foster a diverse community of innovators from scientific, engineering, clinical, medical, and industry backgrounds – through engagement events, virtual communities, What If ideation, fellowships, proof-of-concept funds, and much more. Together, we aim to address the societal and economic challenges posed by neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders through scalable, cutting-edge neurotechnology solutions. By deliberately broadening participation and embracing speculative and practical ideas alike, the collaboration is dedicated to driving transformative impact and building a globally influential neurotech ecosystem.
Cambridge NeuroWorks, unites a distinguished consortium from Cambridge’s life sciences, technology, and business sectors. As an ARIA Activation Partner within ARIA’s Scalable Neural Interfaces opportunity space, this collaboration is dedicated to accelerating the development of next generation neurotechnologies to address critical conditions such as depression, dementia, chronic pain, epilepsy, and nervous system injuries.
Cambridge NeuroWorks will serve as a hub for original thinkers who might otherwise lack access to the funding, space, and mentorship needed to rigorously develop their groundbreaking ideas. It will seek out innovators from across the UK, regardless of background, who have bold, ambitious concepts for technologies that could transform brain health. To ease their transition and allow them to focus fully on their discoveries, the programme will facilitate connections within Cambridge’s ecosystem, including introductions to colleges that may offer subsidised housing. With these supports, the most promising innovators will have the resources to test and scale their ideas rapidly, ensuring they reach patients worldwide quickly and affordably.
Apply for the Fellowship Programme via Connect: Health Tech
Who we are seeking
We are seeking individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences who are passionate about addressing the pressing challenges within neurotechnology. Your ideas could be at any stage of maturity, and could focus on:
- Early-stage diagnosis of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Therapeutic approaches, including novel modalities, bio-hybrids, innovative device-based platforms, medicinal agents, and other non-drug interventions.
- Providing support for those living with these disorders.
You also don’t need to consider yourself part of the “neurotech” community to apply—what matters is your ability to think boldly and contribute innovative solutions. We encourage applications from:
- Engineers, scientists, clinicians, medical professionals, and industry experts.
- Those who can explore speculative ideas or refine them for transformative impact.
- Those who will be empowered by this partnership – in ways otherwise not possible.
Our commitment
We have underpinned this fellowship programme with our commitment to breaking barriers and enabling bold ideas. By leveraging Cambridge’s unique resources, we will empower Fellows to turn ambitious concepts into impactful neurotech solutions, we will do this by delivering on five bold ambitions.
- Supporting an end-to-end scientific entrepreneurship journey: From ideation of highly speculative ideas to investment-ready propositions, providing tailored support and mentorship to maximise the chances of success.
- Creating a safe place to do risky things: By harnessing the vibrant innovation ecosystem of Cambridge, the programme aims to accelerate the delivery of globally affordable neurotechnology.
- Broadening participation: Targeting diverse backgrounds, including engineers, scientists, clinicians, other medical professionals and those from industry with the purpose to minimise barriers to participation.
- Activating a UK-wide neurotech network: Through structured stages that spark innovative ideas, de-risk speculative science, and accelerate innovations to impact.
- Fostering collaboration: Bringing together well-acquainted partners as a single consortium to build on the connections, expertise, and infrastructure of Cambridge University Health Partners and other institutions.
How the Fellowships work
We are offering up to eighteen 12-month Fellowships, which can be completed by up to eighteen individual Fellows as standalone schemes or in sequence by fellows who pursue a follow-on year. The programme will enable rapid pivoting when hypotheses are disproved and accelerate innovation when hypotheses are validated. It has been designed as two complementary pathways to cater for varying degrees of idea maturity, and both pathways will enjoy 12-month fixed term agreements – allowing you to try a new idea every time you disprove a hypothesis and equally, thrive when you find your winning idea. Fellows will be allocated a host institution, most suitable for their idea, to undertake their fellowship, and once completed, you will be empowered to return to your localities to continue your impact.
Pathway 1: The Blue Sky Fellowship
This is a 12-month programme designed to support “What If” ideation. It empowers outstanding individuals with high-impact, highly speculative concepts that require the freedom to 'fail fast’ and retry. Backing Fellows rather than specific ideas, this pathway provides the infrastructure to support further ideation and planning cycles when initial hypotheses are disproved. The Fellowship begins with a 3-month phase to scope, ideate, and plan experimental pathways, ensuring projects are both ambitious and feasible.
- Supports exploration of bold, high-risk ideas with transformative potential.
- Encourages development of one idea in greater detail by the end of the Fellowship.
- Focuses on individuals, enabling them to iterate on multiple potential solutions.
- Includes a 3-month scoping and ideation phase to refine project goals and pathways.
You should apply for this pathway if you have bold, speculative hypotheses or ideas, and need the freedom to explore multiple possibilities until you find your winning transformative solution
Pathway 2: Frontier Fellowship
This is a 12-month programme for individuals who have moved beyond speculative “What If” ideas to the “How might” phase, where proof-of-concept has already been established. This pathway provides targeted support to advance early-stage concepts, incorporating commercial insights and resources to prepare projects for real-world impact.
- Designed for ideas with proof-of-concept, ready for development and scaling.
- Commercial wrap-around, and early clinical input to prepare projects for success.
- Focuses on refining one or more project concepts for practical application.
- Positions Fellows to drive impact in their localities post-Fellowship.
You should apply for this pathway if you have a proof-of-concept idea and are ready to focus on turning it into a scalable, real-world solution with commercial potential
What the award of a Fellowship Grant will provide:
- A grant of approximately £57,000 intended to cover living expenses whilst undertaking the Fellowship;
- Funding of approximately £40,000 intended to cover cost of consumables;
- Funding of approximately £20,000 Intended to cover bench fees at host institution;
- World-class Entrepreneurial training delivered through several initiatives and mentorship schemes that are most aligned to the stage of development of ideas – for example, Frontier Fellows will participate in the Accelerate@Babraham programme;
- Opportunity for formal association with a with a Cambridge University College;
- Opportunity for Membership of with the virtual Cambridge Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Research Centre.
What you are committing to
It is important to note that successful grant award recipients would be committing to:
- Relocating to Cambridge,
- Participating in a full time 12-month programme,
- Abiding by the terms of an Independent Fellowship Agreement[1]
Fellowship application criteria
- Applicants must either (i) be UK based and have the right to remain in the UK to live and work or (ii) non-UK based and upon relocating to the UK, be able to take up the Fellowship with the right to work and live in the UK.[2]
- Applications are open to engineers, scientists, clinicians, other medical professionals and those from industry.
We will only accept applications from finishing PhD students who have already submitted their thesis.
- Successful applicants must be able to become self-employed Independent Fellows for the duration of the Fellowship.
- Successful applicants must be able to commence the full-time fellowship no later than the 1st of May 2025.
- ARIA and Cambridge NeuroWorks aim to create a science-founder-friendly approach to intellectual property, ensuring that innovators retain ownership and the ability to commercialise their ideas wherever possible.
Fellowship application process
1. Applicant decides on their preferred fellowship | |
Blue Sky Fellowship Apply for the Blue Sky Fellowship if you have bold, speculative hypotheses or ideas, and need the freedom to explore multiple possibilities until you find your winning transformative solution | Frontier Fellowship Apply for the Frontier Fellowship if you have a proof-of-concept idea and are ready to focus on turning it into a scalable, real-world solution with commercial potential |
2. Click the 'apply now' button below | |
Blue Sky Fellowship You will be asked to provide:
| Frontier Fellowship You will be asked to provide:
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For both Fellowship types you will also need to provide:
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3. Shortlisted applicants invited for interviews | |
Blue Sky Fellowship Short-listed applicants for the Blue Sky Fellowships will be invited for an interview to explore their passion, suitability, and problem statements. | Frontier Fellowship Short-listed applicants for the Frontier Fellowships will be required to present their proposal to an interview panel in a presentation not exceeding 10 minutes in length followed by a Q&A Session. |
4. Final awards made | |
For both Fellowships, awards will be made subject to:
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Next steps
Apply for one of the Fellowships: If you are ready to take the next step in transforming neurotechnology, we encourage you to apply for one of our Fellowships. Carefully consider which pathway aligns best with your current idea or concept maturity, and begin your application journey.
- Await the launch of Blue Sky PoC projects call: We will also be launching a separate Blue Sky Proof of Concept (PoC) projects call in the new year. This opportunity will target innovators with a clear focus who wish to test already-formulated solution hypotheses. Successful PoC projects will receive funded access to Cambridge labs and research consumables to validate or disprove hypotheses rapidly on focused, discrete projects – while continuing with any existing commitments. If this sounds like the right fit for you, register to hear about future PoC calls by visiting the Cambridge NeuroWorks website or email us enquiries@CambridgeNeuroWorks.com
- Get connected: there are plenty of other ways to get involved. We are planning engagement events in Cambridge and across the UK, as well as building a virtual community on Connect: Health Tech to bring together innovators and collaborators – all free. From part-time involvement in our “What-if” ideation series, to meetups and roadshows, there will be plenty of opportunities to connect, share ideas, and explore how you can contribute to the future of neurotechnology. Visit the Cambridge NeuroWorks website to learn more and start your journey.
About the Cambridge NeuroWorks partners
- Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA)– is an R&D funding agency created to unlock technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. Created by an Act of Parliament, and sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, it funds teams of scientists and engineers to pursue research at the edge of what is scientifically and technologically possible.
- Babraham Research Campus – will support Fellows to start, nurture, scale and grow their bioscience business. The Campus is home to more than 60 life science companies that raised £700m in funding in the past three years.
- Cambridge Network – a not-for-profit membership organisation that brings people together from business and academia to exchange ideas, foster collaboration and build partnerships for shared success. It will play a central role in facilitating collaboration, leveraging its extensive connections with multidisciplinary partners from academia, research and industry.
- Cambridge Neuroscience – gives Fellows access to a virtual Interdisciplinary Research Centre at the University of Cambridge which serves to connect ~900 neuroscientists across all 6 schools of the University and has membership spanning more than 30 Departments and affiliated institutions.
- Cambridge University Health Partners – has developed a unified, cross-cluster life sciences strategy for Cambridge city region and will help Fellows navigate the different academic, industry and NHS organisations in the sector.
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust – with 4,500 staff and serving a population of just under a million people, CPFT will allow Fellows access to a leading mental health services research trust, which is also spearheading the programme for a new Children’s hospital due to be built in Cambridge, that uniquely combines mental and physical treatment on the same wards.
- The Maxwell Centre – as a centrepiece of academia-industry engagement at the University of Cambridge, will actively facilitate Fellows' engagement with leading research in physical sciences and engineering during their 'blue sky' experimental exploration.
- Milner Therapeutics Institute(MTI) – will give the programme access to a globally leading and unique model where fellows can work with experts in healthtech/ neurosciences to ideate unboxed ideas. The Institute houses its own Frame Shift Bio-incubator and provides everything a start-up needs to start, grow, and scale their business. The MTI also leads on Connect: Health Tech, the virtual platform supporting pan-UK Cambridge NeuroWorks.
- University of Cambridge – as well as convening its institutions like the Milner and Maxwell, and Cambridge Neuroscience as partners to this programme, the University will bring scientific leadership to this programme through Cambridge Neuroscience, the department of Engineering and the department of Psychiatry.
- University of Cambridge Department of Engineering - is a global leader in innovation, it will provide Fellows with access to cutting-edge research, state-of-the-art facilities, and expertise in fields like AI, bioengineering, and sustainable systems.
- University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry - is an internationally leading centre for research and teaching in psychiatry, with a particular focus on the determinants of mental health conditions, their treatments and the promotion of mental health through innovative translational research. It will offer access to expertise in understanding and treating mental health conditions through collaborative research groups and strong links with clinical and industry partners. Fellows will benefit from a rich network to advance innovations in neuropsychiatric care.
- Vellos - co-founded by Prof Sir Tony Kouzarides – who also co-founded Abcam and the Milner Therapeutics Institute, is dedicated to advancing life science innovation through company creation and promotes impact at research institutions by empowering entrepreneurship and driving innovation through the creation of world-class ventures.
[1] In practice this would mean being a self-employed independent consultant, and thus responsible for any tax or national insurance deductions from the living expenses grant. We will provide support and some funding to support you in making that temporary transition.
[2] We are unable to support any applications to obtain a UK work Visa.