The deadline for applications to the Software Sustainability Institute’s Fellowship Programme 2021 has been extended to 23:59 GMT on Sunday 7 February 2021. 

We welcome applications from individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds, experience and career stages who want to improve how research software is done in their domains and/or area of work. If you are based in the UK or have a formal affiliation with a UK based institution or office, and are any of the following:

• a researcher who uses software
• a developer who writes tools for researchers
• a research software engineer who supports the work of researchers with software
• an advocate for best practice in software use for your research domain
• in a leadership role in projects or organisations that make heavy use of software
• a user of research software
• passionate about software in research in any way

then the Fellowship programme will be of interest to you! 

Each Fellow will be allocated £3,000 to spend over 15 months beginning 1 May 2021. The funding is flexible to support activities that are beneficial to both the Fellow and the Institute. For example, the funding can be used to attend conferences, organise and run workshops, facilitate software sustainability sessions at domain conferences, nurture or contribute to communities of practice, collaborate with other Fellows, or host, organise or teach training events.

As part of the Fellowship Application, we ask for a 'voice-over slide presentation screencast' outlining your plans for the Fellowship, which must be primarily focused on improving UK capability (as the Institute is a UK funded organisation). In light of the ongoing situation around COVID-19, we encourage applicants to consider that travel and in-person events may not always be feasible, and we particularly welcome plans with online-based activities. You can read more about how our current cohort of Fellows adapted their plans to make the most of their SSI Fellowship in a COVID-19 world here. You can watch some of our 2020 Fellows’ application videos for inspiration, and for technical questions about the screencast please visit the Application Video Guide.

You can find out more information about the Institute, Fellowship Programme, how to apply and hear first-hand experiences from some of our Fellows through the Launch Webinar recording. Please visit the Fellowship Programme page for important dates and further information, and you can also sign up to receive updates and reminders.

If you have questions about the Programme, please contact Rachael Ainsworth, Institute Community Manager at fellows-management@software.ac.uk.