SRUK​/CERU XI Emerging Talent Award

SRUK/CERU 11th Emerging Talent Award 2026

The Society of Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK/CERU) announces the eleventh edition of the “SRUK/CERU Emerging Talent Award”. The objective of this award is to recognise and support a young Spanish researcher with an outstanding professional trajectory in the UK, as well as to facilitate the dissemination of the prize‑winner’s research to both Spanish and British societies. This award is targeted to researchers who have demonstrated high potential, strong scientific outputs and mentoring and leadership qualities.

Banco Santander Foundation sponsors this award under its “Young Talent” programme. The “Young Talent” programme includes fellowships and specific actions, and was created with the purpose of funding the most innovative projects carried out by young scientists.

Award: It will consist of £14,000 to be invested in any aspect necessary for the development of the prize‑winner’s career such as research‑related tasks, acquisition of equipment, dissemination of recent results, specialised training for the researcher, family and working‑life balance support, etc. Activities that are in line with SRUK/CERU aims are especially encouraged. The prize‑winner will also receive a commemorative sculpture made by the Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias.

• The candidate must demonstrate their research expertise in the fields of Natural Sciences or Engineering
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• The candidate must be of Spanish nationality and have spent at least 3 years of their research career in the United Kingdom immediately prior to applying for the award
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• The candidate must have between two and ten years of experience following their doctorate and must not have held an independent academic position by more than five years prior to the date of the Final date to receive applications. Justifiable career breaks include maternity leave (18 months or longer by the documented amount of leave actually taken for each child born before or after the PhD award), paternity leave, adoption, serious sickness or caring responsibilities will be taken into consideration.
  
  The jury reserves the right to request documentation for these.
• The candidate cannot have received the award in previous years.
• The candidate must be a regular member of SRUK/CERU at the time of application. Non‑members of SRUK/CERU are welcome to apply as long as they fulfil all the requirements to become a regular member and they register before submitting this award application. Becoming a member of SRUK/CERU is immediate and it only requires filling in a form and paying the corresponding fee.
  
  For additional info, please see here.
• SRUK/CERU supports gender equity and strongly encourages application from women and under‑represented groups.

• Applicants must submit a Narrative CV structured as follows:
  • Summary of the profile (max. 500 words). This section could be used to give a general background of the applicant profile.
  • Four sections (max. 500 words each):
    • 1. Contributions to the Generation of New Ideas, Tools, Methodologies, or Knowledge
    • 2. Contribution and Recognition by the Research and Innovation Community
    • 3. Development of Others and Maintenance of Effective Working Relationships
    • 4. Contributions to Broader Research or Innovation Users and Audiences
• Motivation letter (maximum 2 pages A4, font Arial 11, 2 cm margin) explaining how the candidate will make use of the prize (research, dissemination, training, help for family‑working‑life balance, etc.) and the impact the award will have on the development of the candidate’s research career.
• Details of a referee (senior researcher in the discipline of the candidate). If needed, SRUK/CERU may contact the referee for further information, once the candidate has been shortlisted.

All these documents must be uploaded as a single PDF file.

The applications will be assessed by a selection of members of the Scientific Advisory Board using the official evaluation criteria. The final awardee will be decided by a mixed jury, composed of members of the Board of Directors of SRUK/CERU, members of the Banco Santander Foundation and other partner…