Royal Society International Exchange Scheme

Royal Society International Exchange Scheme
Name	Royal Society International Exchange Scheme
Established	20th century
Funder	The Royal Society
Purpose	International scientific collaboration
Country	United Kingdom

Contents

Royal Society International Exchange Scheme

The Royal Society International Exchange Scheme provides competitive grants supporting short-term collaborative visits between researchers in the United Kingdom and counterparts in other countries. It enables scholars from institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, University College London, and King's College London to collaborate with peers at organisations including Max Planck Society, National Institutes of Health, University of Tokyo, CNRS, and CSIRO. The programme has facilitated partnerships involving investigators affiliated with Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, ETH Zurich, University of Toronto, and Australian National University.

Overview

The scheme supports bilateral visits that strengthen ties among researchers at institutions like Columbia University, Princeton University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, and University of Melbourne. Projects frequently span disciplines represented at centres such as Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, CERN, Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, and Riken. Grants have connected investigators working with agencies including European Research Council, National Science Foundation, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and Agence Nationale de la Recherche.

The programme evolved alongside postwar initiatives linking British science to international networks through bodies such as Nuffield Foundation and British Council. Early collaborations mirrored exchanges between institutions like University of Edinburgh and Sorbonne University, and later expanded to include partners such as Indian Institute of Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Over time, the scheme adapted to changing funding landscapes influenced by milestones like the formation of the European Research Area and agreements involving UK Research and Innovation and bilateral memoranda with organisations such as National Research Foundation (South Africa).

Primary objectives align with fostering collaborations among researchers affiliated with universities and institutes like University of Glasgow, University of Manchester, University of Birmingham, University of Leeds, and University of Bristol and international partners at Seoul National University, KAIST, University of Cape Town, Universidad de Buenos Aires, and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Eligibility criteria require applicants to hold positions at recognised entities such as Royal Holloway, University of London, London School of Economics, Durham University, or equivalent research organisations including CSIRO, Max Planck Society, Institut Pasteur, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Projects must propose visits to facilitate outcomes pertinent to institutions like Gates Cambridge Trust beneficiaries or work aligned with priorities of organisations such as Wellcome Trust and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Grants typically cover travel, subsistence, and research-related costs for short-term visits between institutions such as University of Oxford and University of California, Berkeley, Imperial College London and ETH Zurich, or University College London and Karolinska Institutet. Funding amounts have been structured to support collaborative workshops involving investigators from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, University of Zurich, McGill University, University of Hong Kong, and National Taiwan University. The scheme complements larger awards from funders like European Commission grants, Horizon 2020 projects, and bilateral programmes such as those run by Royal Society of Canada and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

Applicants submit proposals via procedures paralleling calls by bodies like Wellcome Trust, European Research Council, UK Research and Innovation, and Royal Society fellowship competitions. Peer review draws on reviewers from institutions such as University of California, San Diego, Yale University, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Sydney. Selection panels include academics with appointments at places like University of Nottingham, Queen Mary University of London, McMaster University, University of Auckland, and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne to assess scientific merit, feasibility, and potential impact.

Administration is overseen by staff within the funding body that liaise with partner organisations such as British Council, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, UK Research and Innovation, and international counterparts including Alliance of Chinese Universities. Operational partnerships extend to memoranda with institutions such as National Science Foundation (USA), Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and research councils like Australian Research Council and Canadian Institutes of Health Research to coordinate eligibility, mobility, and reporting. The scheme collaborates with strategic partners including Wellcome Trust, Royal Society of Canada, Academy of Sciences Malaysia, and regional research networks to amplify bilateral scientific engagement.