EPSRC Future Communication Systems Early Career Forum EoI

Closing date: Friday 4 December 2026
Number of positions: 25 to 30
Length of term: Two years
Time commitment: Four days per year (includes the quarterly forum meetings)
Outcomes communicated: 29 January 2027

EPSRC is seeking applications from early career researchers (ECR’s) to join our Early Career Forum (ECF) for the Future Communication Systems Theme. The ECF will act as an informal advisory stream to EPSRC.

Members will be advocates for EPSRC within the community and provide a broad perspective on the needs and views of the Future Communication Systems community. They will offer opinion across the breadth of the theme’s remit.

We are recruiting between 25 to 30 new members. We welcome applications from candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds.

Who we’re looking for

Role and person specification

This opportunity is for an early career researcher (post doctorate onwards) based at a UK Higher Education Institution or employed by a relevant business or organisation. They should have an understanding of the processes required to deliver world class research activities in Future Communication Systems or the commercialisation of such research. In addition, this opportunity is open to industrialists and individuals working in the third sector and government organisations whose work is relevant to Future Communication Systems.

To recognise the range of career paths in Future Communication Systems, there is no specific definition of early career, however, applicants should demonstrate why they consider it appropriate to describe themselves as such. This forms part of the assessment criteria outlined in the ‘how we’ll assess your application’ section.

There are some indicators that an individual might be considered early career. This list is not exhaustive or definitive but may help applicants to decide whether this is the right opportunity for them, and to explain why they would consider themselves to be early career.

The internal Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) panel will refer to these indicators but will also take a broad view. These indicators include:

the applicant is in the process of establishing or has newly established their research independence and their research team (established leaders of research groups would not be suitable for this opportunity)
the applicant aspires to leadership within their research community or some experience of community leadership, but may not have a significant track record of community leadership at a national level
the applicant has a good awareness of the international and strategic context of their research and is starting to show evidence of recognition in the community

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds, including those with different protected characteristics, for example sex, ethnicity, disability, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Find out about EPSRC’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.

We encourage applications from researchers based in all regions and nations of the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales), representing a diverse range of institutions and career pathways.

Individuals interested in applying for this opportunity who are unsure of their eligibility should contact the Future Communication System Team (future.communications@epsrc.ukri.org).

Submissions to this opportunity will not affect an applicant’s status under the repeatedly unsuccessful applicant’s policy.

What you’ll be doing

EPSRC Future Communication Systems theme is looking to appoint between 25 to 30 individuals to form the first cohort of the Future Communication Systems ECF.

Members of the forum will be expected to:

act as ‘generous generalists’ in an informal advisory structure, providing valuable insights and additional perspectives on key strategic issues
act as advocates, proactively sharing awareness of EPSRC process and strategy with colleagues and the wider community
be visible and represent the ECR community, disseminating key knowledge of EPSRC strategy and activities to the community and stakeholders where appropriate
challenge constructively or validate EPSRC’s perspectives drawing on the available evidence and their own experiences
work as a team with other ECF members and EPSRC to proactively present issues and opportunities to relevant advisory boards and EPSRC’s Heads of Theme
encourage and enhance two-way dialogue between respective stakeholder communities and, where appropriate with decision-makers

Members of the ECF will have the opportunity to interact with other early career researchers from across the breadth of the Future Communication Systems portfolio, forming new professional networks.

Forum members will also have opportunities to participate in EPSRC strategic advisory activities, interact with senior staff of EPSRC, and will receive insight into UK funding body policy and practice.

The Future Communication Systems Theme considers it important that the forum shapes its own agenda and activities. The forum will suggest items of discussion and provide relevant insight and feedback to EPSRC from the community they represent.

Scope

The aim of the ECF is to engage with EPSRC, to support and enable EPSRC to sustain core research capability, across Future Communication Systems, which has the potential for significant impact.

The ECF will act as an informal advisory body to help support EPSRC in its vision to secure and sustain the future of the UK’s growing capability in Future Communication Systems by focusing on needs and outcomes for early career researchers.

This will:

ensure that the EPSRC’s strategy yields maximum benefits for ECRs
identify Skills and Training needs within the UK and enable talent retention
raise awareness of opportunities within the UK, inclusive of Career Development and Leadership opportunities
develop strategic knowledge within the ECR community

The ECF will be organised and aligned to cover the breadth of the EPSRC’s Future Communication Systems remit. Applicants are eligible to apply from academia and industry.

ECF meetings will be organised collaboratively between EPSRC and forum members, with the meetings being hosted at member’s organisations. EPSRC would expect applicants to be willing to actively participate and contribute to the forum’s planning and activities on a regular basis.

Applicants are advised that the ECF will look to meet on a quarterly basis, with each meeting running over one day. Members are expected to aim to attend the majority of meetings.

Commitment

Appointments will be for two years, from February 2027 to February 2029.

Applicants should be willing to actively participate and contribute to the forum’s activities on a regular basis, including attending and hosting meetings where required, and consultation via email. It is expected that ECF members will need to commit four days to the role per year (including quarterly forum meetings).

Funding

This is not a call for a direct funding opportunity, but rather an expression of interest for membership for the Future Communication Systems ECF.

Travel and subsistence costs associated with attending forum meetings are expected to be covered by the individual’s host institution (employer), as agreed in their letter of support. If this is not possible, you can discuss this with EPSRC.

How to apply

Submitting an application

This is a single stage process, based on an Expression of Interest (EoI).

Applications should be made through the Future Communication Systems Early Career Forum Expression of Interest 2026 form. Your application will be final upon seeing the end screen ‘You have completed this survey’.

Applicants must apply by Friday 4 December 2026, 11:59pm (UK time). We will not accept applications after this time. Submissions to this call will not count towards the Repeatedly unsuccessful applicants policy.

Guidance on writing an application

Preparing an EoI

Applicants must address the criteria outlined in the ‘assessment criteria’ section.

Preparing a statement of support

All applications must be accompanied by a statement of support on headed paper, written, signed, and dated by the applicant’s host organisation head of department (or equivalent). This statement of support must explain clearly how the department will support the applicant’s membership of the forum. It should:

confirm that the host institution (employer) is supportive of the time commitment entered into by the applicant
confirm that the host institution (employer) is prepared to support the applicant to host a meeting of the ECF during the applicant’s term of membership
as the application will be assessed anonymously, do not include the applicants name within the statement

Applications received without a statement of support, or where the statement of support does not meet these two criteria, will be rejected.

How we’ll assess your application

Assessment process

EoIs will be assessed against the specification criteria by an internal EPSRC panel. There will be no postal peer review of applications for this forum.

EPSRC reserves the right to reject proposals deemed to be outside the scope of this opportunity or wholly beyond the remit of EPSRC and those that do not follow the application guidelines.

The outcomes of the selection process will be announced by 29 January 2027 with successful applicants invited to a meeting on 24 February 2027.

In the event of this opportunity being substantially oversubscribed, EPSRC reserve the right to modify the assessment process.

Feedback

Due to the high volume of applications expected for this opportunity, it is not expected that any feedback will be available to applicants.

Assessment criteria

Applications will be assessed on providing demonstrable evidence to address the following selection criteria.

Essential criteria:

being an early career researcher and based at a UK Higher Education Institution or employed by a relevant business or organisation
an understanding of the processes required to deliver research activities in Future Communication Systems or the commercialisation of such research
a track record of outstanding work or research in Future Communication Systems (within the scope of the EPSRC Future Communication Systems theme), and of delivering impact
evidence of involvement in the academic, industry or user community, including examples of leadership, exploring research opportunities, or positioning themselves to take up these opportunities
excellent communication skills and a willingness to develop these further
a willingness to help with two-way communication between EPSRC and stakeholder groups, and to act as an advocate for EPSRC and its activities
a willingness to devote sufficient time to the role

Desirable criteria:

an appreciation of EPSRC processes and operations and an aspiration to develop this further
an ability to work flexibly and adapt to different ways of working

Further information

Contact details

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We are committed to a policy of equal opportunities. Appointments to the ECF are made primarily on merit and we are keen to obtain greater diversity across the forum membership. We actively encourage applications from women, from people who identify as an ethnic minority, people with a disability, and other groups who are currently under-represented. We welcome applications from people of all ages and those based in all regions and nations of the UK.

The long-term strength of the UK research base depends on harnessing all available talent. EPSRC expects that equality and diversity is embedded at all levels and in all aspects of research practice and funding policy. We are committed to supporting the research community, offering a range of flexible options which allow applicants to design a package that fits their research goals, career, and personal circumstances. This includes career breaks, support for people with caring responsibilities, flexible working, and alternative working patterns.

With this in mind, we welcome applications from academics who job-share, have a part-time contract, or need flexible working arrangements. We are committed to ensuring that fairness is fully reflected in all our processes by advancing policy which supports equality, diversity, and inclusion.

How we will use your data

As part of the application process, we will require candidates to submit their diversity data to help us assess and subsequently monitor the diversity of membership. If you do not wish to disclose your details, you may choose the ‘prefer not to say’ option. This data will be collected, stored, and used in line with our General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2016/679 guidelines. The use of an individual’s diversity data in the selection process will be clearly outlined.

All diversity data that is used for monitoring purposes will be appropriately anonymised and aggregated according to Office for National Statistics rounding and suppression methodology.

Last updated: 29 October 2026