At Risk-Scholars and Professionals – UK Wide Initiative

The At Risk-Scholars and Professionals – UK Wide Initiative is designed to support at-risk early-career individuals in the UK, particularly those from marginalised and underrepresented backgrounds. It empowers these individuals by offering skill development opportunities and providing a platform for their voices to be heard through mentorship and membership in the UK Young Academy.

Key project outcomes:

– Eligible candidates will have the opportunity to apply for a five-year membership to the UK Young Academy. 

– A mentorship scheme to pair up at-risk scholars and professionals with a current UK Young Academy member, including one-on-one sessions and access to a network of early-career individuals across various fields. 

– Support the Global Young Academy’s (GYA) Annual Skills Workshop held each year and a feasibility study for the UK Young Academy to run its own workshops for at-risk scholars and professionals to help them to expand their skills and networks. 

– Develop a guidance document with an ‘Introduction to Academia in the UK’ for early career scholars and professionals, in line with initiatives of other National Academies, with input from stakeholders. 

While the project aims to support scholars and professionals across a wide range of sectors and career stages, its primary focus is on early-career individuals facing risk.

The At-Risk Scholars and Professionals (ARSaP) scheme:

As part of this programme of work, a new scheme, the At-Risk Scholars and Professionals (ARSaP), was recently opened to academics from the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) network. Eligible candidates from CARA, as part of their Fellowship Programme and Alumni network, were able to apply through a separate route to membership, which closed on 9 October.

Future plans include engaging new project partners to expand the initiative and support at-risk individuals across various sectors beyond academia.

The initiative is part of a global programme successfully implemented by other Young Academies, including the Young Academy of Scotland, The Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, and the Global Young Academy (GYA).

If you would like to speak to a member of staff about this project, please email us at enquiries@ukyoungacademy.org.