Research Leader Programme

The Research Leader Programme is for new Principal Investigators at the University of Edinburgh, focusing on the challenges faced by PIs as they establish themselves as team leaders for the first time. Topics include understanding your approach to leadership, developing and supporting a research team, and developing your research strategy.

Who is it for?

Eligible applicants are likely to be University of Edinburgh research fellows, recently appointed academic staff, or new Principal Investigators who are leading teams for the first time. Though aspects of this programme are relevant for leading collaborative groups, this is not the main focus of the programme.

What can I expect?

The cohort-based programme is designed to support researchers to develop key leadership skills in the context of the Higher Education sector, and an opportunity to learn from colleagues and peers from across the institution in similar positions. The specific topics that will be covered include: 

• Introduction to research leadership and understanding your approach to leadership
• Leading research teams effectively and how to set them up for success
• Leading research teams effectively and how to deal with common challenges
• Developing a strategic approach to your research

Through a mixture of leadership theory and peer discussion and learning participants will be given methods and approaches to leading research and teams effectively, and will be able to apply these in their own contexts. Previous participants have given very positive feedback on the course, and some recent comments from participants in 2025 included:

“I cannot rave about this course enough - it was amazing. This has been invaluable and I'm so glad I got a spot. I wish it was still running. “

“I would strongly recommend this course to other new and aspiring PIs.”

“Overall, it was a great programme for thinking about research leadership holistically, from building and leading teams to moving towards my own objectives as a research leader.”

“I gained a lot from the two days and I'm so glad I protected the time and came along.” 

Upcoming programmes and dates

The Research Leader Programme will run three times in AY2025/26, once online and twice on campus. 

Online Research Leader Programme

The online programme will run once over four half-days, spread out over several months. You must be able to attend all four half-days on the dates indicated below in order to be eligible to apply.

• 15 January 2026, 13:30-16:30
• 5 February 2026, 13:30-16:30
• 24 February 2026, 13:30-16:30
• 19 March 2026,  13:30-16:30

The online programme is facilitated by Robin Henderson of My Consultants.

In-person Research Leader Programme

The in-person programme will run twice, once per semester, and will be delivered over two consecutive days in a central campus location. You must be able to attend two consecutive days in either semester on the dates indicated below to be eligible to apply.

• Semester One: 1 & 2 December 2025, 10:00-16:30 both days

  OR

• Semester Two:  25 & 26 May 2026, 10:00-16:30 both days

The in-person programme is facilitated by Emily Woollen in IAD.

Application and eligibility criteria

Places are available for eligible colleagues in all three Colleges who can commit to attending all days of either the online or in-person offers, as outlined above. There will be two rounds of applications, and eligible staff can apply for the programmes during the following times:

1. Applications for the in-person (Dec 2025) or online (Jan-Mar 2026) programmes will be open between 15 to 30 September 2025.
2. Applications for the in-person (May 2026) programme will be open between 2 to 16 February 2026.

There are limited places available in each offer. Based on previous iterations, we expect demand to be high and may need to allocate spaces on a first come basis, prioritising those who meet the criteria for the programme and ensuring a good mixture of delegates from across the three Colleges. If you do not get a space we may be able to accommodate you on another programme, or you may be asked to apply again in the next round of applications.