Industry Opportunities

A PhD studentship is available for commencement October 2026 – January 2027 as part of the first Cohort of a new EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in UK Semiconductor Industry Future Skills* led by Swansea University in partnership with the University of Leeds. 

The UK-SIFS Training Manager will lead the design, development, and delivery of a high-quality doctoral training programme for the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in UK Semiconductor Industry Future Skills (UK-SIFS), an £18.5 million initiative hosted by Swansea University in partnership with the University of Leeds. The programme aims to address critical semiconductor skills shortages by providing industry-focused doctoral training.

Apply for funding to form world‑leading partnerships with collaborators in Japan in the field of Advanced Connectivity Technologies.

KuasaSemi Ltd is an innovative start-up technology business and provider of advanced semiconductor design solutions. They are currently recruiting for a fixed-term TCAD Application Engineer on the development of their TCAD software, Aquarius. 

Launched in 2013, the Advanced Manufacturing for Energy Related Applications in Harsh Environments (ADMA) Pilot is an innovation community dedicated to integrating the Blue Sustainable Economy value chain. 

Bilateral call to strengthen Swiss-UK innovation collaboration in Semiconductors, Life Sciences, or Engineering Biology.

The ChipQuest Challenge is a competition for all students from Grade 1 through PhD to create videos introducing the world of semiconductors to school children.

Recognising outstanding individuals driving measurable progress across the UK microelectronics ecosystem — spanning photonics, embedded systems, and semiconductors.

The 20 Under 30 recognition program honors the industry’s brightest young leaders who have demonstrated success in their careers in the microelectronics supply chain – Engineering, Sales/Marketing and R&D positions.

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £110 million to deliver ambitious research and innovation and develop future leaders. This funding is from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

UK registered academic institutions can apply for a share of up to £800,000 to take part in the ACTASAP. This funding is from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and delivered by Innovate UK, part of UKRI.

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £17 million for establishing testbeds to unlock the next generation of quantum networking capability. This funding is from Innovate UK.

Following the advice of the Council for Science and Technology (CST) to the Prime Minister on growth and global leadership in photonics, the UK Government is convening a workshop to develop a national photonics roadmap, in order to help better coordinate funding, leverage existing clusters of expertise and build on the UK's strengths.

SWCS PBIAA Funding available for early stage commercialisation and spinout projects that require support from expertise and facilities available at Cardiff University Institute for Compound Semiconductors (ICS) or Swansea University Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials (CISM), or any other Cluster entity, to set up a company and innovate in South Wales.

The UK Semiconductor Centre are building a UK-wide directory of workforce and skills initiatives to make it easier for people to navigate opportunities and pathways into the UK semiconductor industry.

USW are looking for partners to invest in the next generation of experts who will be educated in the new state-of-the-art STEM building, Calon, scheduled to open this autumn. It will be home to a wide range of academic programmes and research, ranging from computing and data science to engineering.

The Public Engagement Grant Scheme (PEGS) aims to support the IOP Limit Less initiative by funding projects that meaningfully engage whole family groups (including parents/carers) to improve their relationship with physics. Round 1: Applications received between 9 February and 10 May. Round 2: Applications received between 11 May and 7 September.

Are you a UK company that qualifies for M4B funding? M4B can give you access to NPL's specialist measurement science and engineering experts and facilities, at no charge, to help your business grow. 

An EPSRC-funded programme that will develop the skills of Research Technical Professionals (RTPs) within the GW4 institutes (Bath, Bristol, Cardiff & Exeter Universities). The programme offers tailored training & development opportunities from February 2026 - Summer 2027

EPSRC particularly welcomes high quality applications where engineering and physical sciences research can generate new knowledge and addresses challenges associated with the advancement, development, and deployment of these technologies: artificial intelligence, engineering biology, future telecommunications, semiconductors, and quantum technologies. No closing date.

This survey is a vital step in helping the UK Government fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the UK semiconductor packaging sector and identify critical gaps in the supply chain where targeted intervention may be needed. 

The Flexible Skills Programme (FSP) is a Welsh Government funded initiative that helps businesses across Wales build a stronger, more skilled workforce. Employers can apply for funding to cover up to 50% of the accredited training costs, with a maximum value of £50,000 per application.

Made Smarter Innovation has identified AI as a keystone industrial digital technology, strategic to all sectors, and other digital technologies are critical to making AI useful. By filling out this short survey, you will directly contribute to shaping the future of AI and digital technologies within industry.

Jointly funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund and Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) the Academic-Industry Partnerships programme, part of the Cluster Development and Growth Programme, aims to bring together industry and academia to identify innovative solutions to enterprise challenges, particularly amongst micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Open ended

Innovate UK Business Growth’s highly regarded Scaleup Programme provides one-to-one, bespoke and funded support centred around innovative scaleups’ specific needs. It is available to those scaleup companies achieving, or with the potential for, 50% compound annual growth rates (CAGR) and over.

Up to €20m per project to connect people and organisations working towards the goal of innovation and supporting the scaling of companies. Closing dates 22 Sep 2026 or 15 Sep 2027 depending on call.

Topics available under Horizon Europe's Cluster 4 programme for 2026-27, with a total budget of €1.5bn. Various closing dates from Mar 2026 to Sep 2027

A total budget of €798.5m to upgrade research and innovation systems in less advanced countries within the European area. Various closing dates, 12 Mar 2026 to 18 Nov 2027 

The EIC Transition is a funding programme under Horizon Europe targeting innovation activities that goes beyond the experimental proof of principle in laboratory. It supports both the maturation and validation of novel technologies from the lab to the relevant application environments.

The EIC Accelerator is a funding programme under Horizon Europe that offers support to start-ups and SMEs that are looking for substantial funding, have the ambition and commitment to scale up, and have an innovative, game changing product.

The Welsh Government is building a stronger, fairer, greener country, with an economy based on fair work, sustainability and the sectors of the future. SMART Flexible Innovation Support (FIS) is open to any organisation wishing to engage in Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I), including the third sector, local authorities and health boards. Open ended

This scheme is part of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP), offering financial support in the form of investments to startups, SMEs, and small mid-caps, between EUR 10 to 30 million. 

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is seeking to support applications through their standard research grant scheme in the following two areas:

• advanced materials solutions for critical minerals
• in-situ and in-operando materials metrology and characterisation

The Quantum Skills Taskforce is a sector-wide coalition, including representatives from industry, academia, professional societies, national labs, and government departments and agencies. The Taskforce has considered the current and future skills needs of the sector, and how these needs could be met.

Innovation Challenge 1: Advanced Energy Transmission and Networks: How can we leverage breakthroughs in semiconductor, superconductor, and wireless power transmission technologies to enhance grid performance? Projects applying to this challenge should align with and build upon existing UK and international initiatives in advanced energy transmission. Applicants should consider how their innovations complement prior research and industry developments.

pro² is pleased to announce an open funding call for international and industrial residencies (The pro² Residency Scheme). Applications must propose ideas which align with pro² objectives, and awardees can apply for funding under one of three categories.

The aim of the new investigator awards is to support researchers to develop their own research vision and establish a new research group to explore that vision. Open - no closing date.

Agile Cymru is a scaleable programme of coordinated action, an agile tool to deliver greater economic co-operation at speed, guided by the International Strategy and our economic policies. This includes a flexible grant mechanism to support cross-border and international activity that maximises shared opportunities across themes, sectors, and geographies. Agile Cymru funding can support a wide range of activity; the focus is on the outcome and benefit for Wales.