The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) currently have an opportunity for individuals to apply for Early career fellowships in cultural and heritage institutions including the RBGE. This is the second round of this programme which follows on from the pilot projects including Dr Siôn Parkinson's Fragrance in the Fungarium project at RBGE.
In order to apply for a fellowship you must:
- be an early career researcher
- hold a doctorate in a relevant subject or equivalent professional experience and skills
- align your project with RBGE's Plant Humanities research themes
Research Themes
RBGE invites applications for projects relating to the following strategic areas:
- Connections between biodiversity, equity and social inclusion, including the colonial contexts in which the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has historically operated.
- Cultural contexts of plants and items in our collections, including both contemporary and historical perspectives on our 350-year history.
- Art of plants and gardens, including practice-based creative research and/or our botanical art collection.
- Relationships between health, medicine and plants, including the value of green spaces for human wellbeing and the wider value of community engagement with nature and culture.
We are particularly interested in proposals that consider our collections in novel ways, as we seek to uncover their histories, intangible heritage and relevance in contemporary contexts and links to other collections.
Townhall
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) Cohort Coordination and Development team are organising a series of online townhall events on to encourage a wide range of applications and provide further information.
The events will give potential applicants an overview of the scheme, the chance to ask questions, and the opportunity to meet representatives from AHRC, the scheme coordination and development team, and independent research organisations (IROs).
RBGE will be taking part in the townhall event on Tuesday 30th September 2025, from 11.30am to 1pm.
More Information
You are strongly advised to contact Lorna Mitchell to discuss your ideas for possible projects as soon as possible.
More information on this opportunity is available on the UKRI website .