Training collaborations - invest in the researchers of the future
Collaborate with us to grow research expertise, capacity and capability in your therapeutic area of interest or clinical need.
Does your study pipeline require a specific research expertise?
We work in partnership with the life sciences industry, including SMEs, to build research expertise, capacity and capability in areas of shared interest. We do this by co-funding research career development opportunities, such as research awards and fellowships. If your research programme requires specific expertise or skill sets, this collaborative way of working could help support your study pipeline.
What are the benefits of partnering with the NIHR?
The NIHR plays a pivotal role in attracting, training and supporting the best health and care researchers to tackle the complex challenges of the future. By partnering with us, you can collaborate with a highly-skilled academic research workforce with experience in translational and applied health and care research.
We can also work with you to develop opportunities for early career researchers to attract new talent, embed commercial research delivery skills and experience, and help address capability gaps.
By pooling resources in areas of mutual interest, we can share our wealth of expertise and resources to collectively upskill the current and future research workforce.
What funding opportunities are available to industry partners?
Co-funding partnership opportunities are available at doctoral and postdoctoral (advanced) level through the NIHR Fellowships Programme and the HEE/NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic (ICA) Programme.
Both programmes attract future leaders in health and social care research; both provide salary funding for the researcher as well as the cost of the research project. Researchers on the Fellowship Programme have the option to spend time in the clinic, whereas those funded by the ICA programme must spend between 20-40% of their time in their clinical or practice role.
Training collaborations in action
Since 2020, we have partnered with Pfizer UK to co-fund Doctoral and Advanced Fellowships in areas such as arthritis, chronic pain and psoriasis. Read more about this Pfizer partnership which is tackling key areas of research need.
We have also launched the Zinc Health and Care Innovation Fellowships programme, in partnership with theNIHR and TheDunhill Medical Trust.
Related information
This is just one of the ways we help life science organisations to conduct research in the UK. Visit our NIHR support for industry page to discover our full range of support. You may also be interested in:
- Explore all our services and support
- Read useful articles and guides on delivering health research in the UK
- View our spotlights on UK strengths
- View case studies of our support for industry
Contact us
If you would like to learn more about training collaboration opportunities use our contact form to request a chat with our Industry team. We aim to reply as soon as possible and always within two business days.