Awards & Grants
Applications to any of our grants, Fellowships and bursary offerings are only available to Fellows and Members of the College in good standing. Applicants will have to submit their application form on the following platform: rcsed.grantplatform.com. Further information and guidance notes can also be found there.
Small Research Pump Priming Grants (up to £10,000)
Applications are invited from surgical trainees and recently appointed consultants. Grants are awarded for pump priming projects for a period of one year only. Please note that requests for running costs to support established projects will be less favourably reviewed than those for pilot work that has the potential to facilitate applications for more substantial funding in the future.
Research project submissions should satisfy one or more of the College’s following four priority areas for research.
Surgical/dental translational research
Surgical/dental health services research
Research into surgical/dental aspects of patient safety, simulation and nonoperative technical skills
Cancer research of demonstrable direct clinical relevance to the management of solid tumours.
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 6 December 2023
Tuanku Muhriz Fellowship in Rural Surgery
The Fellowship provides funding for travel to Malaysia to gain further experience and training in rural surgery. Applicants
will be:
Surgeons who are higher surgical trainees who have not yet attained consultant grade
Trainee general surgeons, around the time of their appointment to a consultant post, to enable them to study in centres with particular expertise relating to rural surgery
Surgeons making short visits to learn new surgical techniques or to work in centres developing a rural surgery service.
Up to £2,000 may be awarded to cover travel costs related to the Fellowship.
Applications are open to Fellows and Members of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the RCSEd. Applicants must be based in the UK.
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 10 January 2024
Bursaries for Affiliate Medical Student Elective Placements in Africa
The RCSEd is offering a number of bursaries for elective placements in Africa. The elective need not necessarily be in a surgical-specific unit, but priority may be given to students demonstrating an interest in surgery. The bursary will comprise a single payment that can be used towards travel and accommodation costs, or other expenses involved with the placement such as vaccinations and visas.
The bursary will be up to £500 for each award. It is open to medical students enrolled at UK universities undertaking approved surgical electives abroad. Students must be Affiliates of the RCSEd.
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 10 January 2024
Fellowship in Dental Education and Clinical Experience
This Fellowship provides funding for travel to the UK from Malaysia to gain further experience and training in dental education and clinical experience.
Applicants will be:
Trainee dental surgeons, around the time of their appointment to a consultant post, to enable them to study in centres with particular expertise relating to the dental education and clinical experience
Dental surgeons making short visits to learn new techniques, or to work in centres developing a dental education and clinical experience service
Dental surgeons who are higher surgical trainees and have not yet attained consultant grade
Those dentists whose specialty is linked with the specialist lists recognised by the UK’s General Dental Council. Please see www.gdc-uk.org/registration/your-registration/specialist-lists
Up to £2,000 may be awarded to cover travel costs related to the Fellowship.
Applications are open to Fellows and Members of the RCSEd’s Faculty of Dental Surgery. Applicants must be based, or have trained, in Malaysia.
The closing date for applications is Tuesday 16 January 2024
Ethicon Foundation Fund Travel Grants
This grant provides a contribution towards international travel costs to further enhance a specialty skill or experience that is not normally available in the applicant’s own hospital for a period of between six weeks and 12 months (although visits of up to 24 months may be considered). The grant is intended to cover the cost of one economy-class return journey up to a value of £1,000.
Please note that successful applicants will normally be Fellows or Members in training grade appointments, but more senior applications may be considered at the discretion of the board.
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 24 January 2024
RCSEd/Binks Trust Medical Student Elective Travel
The RCSEd, in association with the Binks Trust, offers medical students an opportunity to apply for financial support towards their elective abroad in surgery.
The bursary will be up to £250 for each award. It is open to medical students in the UK and the Republic of Ireland undertaking approved surgical electives abroad. Students must be affiliates of the RCSEd.
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 24 January 2024
Undergraduate Bursary
The College offers up to three bursaries to undergraduate students of medicine or dentistry to enable them to work for elective or vacation periods in universities, medical schools, NHS laboratories or research institutes in the UK. Proposals for work on research projects in any branch of surgery are eligible for consideration. For example, proposals for work on blood transfusion, infection control, rehabilitation and so on will be considered due to their direct relevance to surgery.
The bursary will be up to £150 per week for a maximum of eight weeks. Up to £300 is also available for consumables. As such, in total, the maximum award amount is £1,500.
Students must be Affiliates of the RCSEd.
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 13 March 2024
The Saleem Khwaja Memorial Fellowship in Paediatric Surgery
The Saleem Khwaja Memorial Fellowship in Paediatric Surgery provides funding for international travel to learn a specialist surgical technique, procedure or treatment, or to offer charitable service to another centre in support of skills development.
Up to £5,000 is on offer. The funds can be used to cover costs related to travel and accommodation.
Eligible applicants are paediatric surgery trainees/higher surgical trainees or junior consultant grade (up to two years post-appointment), who are Members or Fellows of the RCSEd.
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 27 March 2024
Dundas Medal
The medal is in commemoration of Dr Charles Robert (Bertie) Dundas FFARCS FRCP Glasgow. Dr Dundas was a senior lecturer in the department of surgery. In recognition of Bertie’s life-long enthusiasm for teaching, research and innovation an annual award to recognise efforts to improve the provision of palliative care for patients when they are in hospital is fitting.
The award is open to individuals or teams (medical, nursing or paramedical) working in any hospital in the UK. It is not essential that the applicant should be an FRCSEd. The term ‘hospital’ applies to both acute and community hospitals.
This award does not provide any funding. However, awardees are invited to a diploma ceremony where they are presented with the Dundas Medal and Dundas Medal Certificate.
The closing date for applications is Wednesday 10 April 2024
Congratulations to the following AWARDS AND GRANTS RECIPIENTS
Bursaries for Affiliate Medical Student Elective Placements in Africa
Benjamin Clay, Oda Government Hospital, Ghana.
Kwan Wai Fung, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, South Africa.
Zakariya Hogsade, Muhimbili National Hospital, Tanzania.
Hetta Friend, Tygerburg Hospital, South Africa.
Julian Greig, Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital, South Africa.
Aya Riad, Ain Shams Specialised University Hospital, Egypt.
Ethicon Foundation Travel Grant
Aitor de Gea Rico. Visiting Saveetha Medical College.
Mohd Afiq Mohd Slim. Visiting Hamilton Health Sciences.
Emma Howie. Visiting Stratus, Boston, US.
Tuanku Muhriz Fellowship in Rural Surgery
Adeline Clement, Consultant Orthopaedic Trauma and Hand Surgeon.
Fellowship in Dental Education and Clinical Experience
Rachael Olivia Forsythe. Visiting the School of Dentistry, University of Central Lancashire.
Undergraduate Bursary
Adithi Randeni, University of Leeds. ‘Composition of CSF in hydrocephalus.’
Beatrice Lofthouse, University of Edinburgh. ‘Analysis of primary sclerosing cholangitis risk prediction models in relation to liver transplantation.’
Abbey-Louise Matthews, University of Leeds. ‘Quality improvement project analysing environmental impact of sustainable alternatives in the operating theatre.’
In memory
Surgical Fellows and Members
Ivan JELEN, FRCSEd 1972
James Francis KANE, FRCSEd 1990
Antoni NACZK, FIMC RCSEd 2000
Ian George STOTHER, FRCSEd 1974
Dental Fellows and Members
George Simpson BEAGRIE, FDS RCSEd 1947
For more information about the College’s awards and grants contact:
Research and Grants Coordinator, Development and Partnerships Office, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9DW
Tel: +44 (0)131 527 1616 • Email: awards@rcsed.ac.uk • Web: bit.ly/2wKpRTr
The RCSEd collects personal data from you during the application process for awards and grants. We will not share this information with any third parties, and your data will be used solely for processing and administrating applications.