Cardiff University is set to share in a £54 million fund to attract top researchers to the UK.
It is one of 12 leading universities and research institutions which will deliver the Global Talent Fund. It is designed to attract a total of 60-80 top researchers – both lead researchers and their teams – to the UK, working in the eight high priority sectors named in the UK Government's Industrial Strategy, such as life sciences and digital technologies.
The UK Government says that each of the selected institutions has a track record of recruiting and supporting top international R&D talent, as well as securing international competitive research funding to the UK.
They are empowered to develop their own approaches and plans to spend their share of the Global Talent Fund to attract research talent from the around the globe in their choice of Industrial Strategy areas, including covering visa and relocation costs for researchers and their family members.
Cardiff University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Wendy Larner said:
“We are delighted to have secured this funding to help us attract the world’s best minds to Cardiff and Wales.
“It is a clear endorsement of our standing and place in the UK research community and sends a clear message that we are well-positioned to attract global talent. It will enable us to support more of the world’s leading academics in Wales – helping to further boost our research capacity and global reputation in key research areas.”
The institutions selected to deliver the Global Talent Fund are:
- University of Bath
- Queen’s University Belfast
- University of Birmingham
- University of Cambridge
- Cardiff University
- Imperial College London
- John Innes Centre
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
- University of Oxford
- University of Southampton
- University of Strathclyde
- University of Warwick
Science Minister Lord Vallance said:
“Genius is not bound by geography. But the UK is one of the few places blessed with the infrastructure, skills base, world-class institutions and international ties needed to incubate brilliant ideas, and turn them into new medicines that save lives, new products that make our lives easier, and even entirely new jobs and industries. Bringing these innovations to life, here in Britain, will be critical to delivering this Government’s Plan for Change.
“My message to the bold and the brave who are advancing new ideas, wherever they are, is: our doors are open to you. We want to work with you, support you, and give you a home where you can make your ideas a reality we all benefit from.”
The Global Talent Fund is administered by UKRI and is part of over £115 million funding dedicated to attracting scientific and research talent to the UK. In addition to this fund, two fellowships have been launched aimed at bringing groundbreaking AI research teams to UK organisations and labs: the £25 million Turing AI ‘Global’ Fellowships, as well as a UK-based expansion of the Encode: AI for Science Fellowship.
Alongside this, two new fast-track research grant routes have been announced by the National Academies – including £30 million from the Royal Society for a Faraday Discovery Fellowship accelerated international route, part-funded by their £250 million DSIT endowment. The Royal Academy of Engineering has announced a similar fast track international route, as part of its £150 million Green Future Fellowships endowment from DSIT – this funding will ensure the UK competes for the best global talent in science and research. Researchers looking to relocate to the UK can also benefit from the Choose Europe scheme, thanks to the UK’s association to Horizon Europe.
All will be supported by the Global Talent Taskforce. Launched as part of the Industrial Strategy, the taskforce will report directly to the Prime Minister and Chancellor, and support researchers, scientists and engineers as well as top-tier investors, entrepreneurs and managerial talent to bring their skills to Britain.
Work to cultivate top AI research talent in the UK is further bolstered through the Spärck AI scholarships, which will provide full funding for master’s degrees at nine leading UK universities specialising in artificial intelligence and STEM subjects. These scholarships will open for applications in Spring 2026. Postgraduate research will also be supported broadly, with £500 million UKRI funding supporting students at 45 higher education institutions to study projects in biological, engineering and physical, and natural and environmental sciences.
The IMF estimates that breakthroughs in AI alone could boost productivity by as much as 1.5 percentage points a year, which could be worth up to an average £47 billion to the UK each year over a decade. Other technologies could be gamechangers too: quantum computing could add over £11 billion to the UK’s GDP by 2045, while engineering biology could drive anywhere between £1.6-£3.1 trillion in global impact by 2040.
Professor Christopher Smith, International Champion at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), said:
“Global challenges from climate change to energy security, food systems to antimicrobial resistance do not respect borders, and neither should the research and innovation required to address them. Time and again, international collaboration has driven transformative breakthroughs: from the discovery of the Higgs boson at CERN, to the global effort to decode the complex wheat genome, enabling the development of high-yield, climate-resilient crops that support food security worldwide. The impact of global partnerships is clear.
“The Global Talent Fund is a vital part of UKRI’s mission to support an open, dynamic, and diverse research and innovation system. By supporting our brilliant research institutions to attract outstanding individuals from across the world and foster collaboration between nations, we are strengthening the UK’s position at the heart of the global knowledge economy. This fund aligns with our enduring commitment to international engagement, and to working together to shape a better future for all.”
