RIPEN Hub Funding Call Now Open

The RIPEN Innovation Hub is pleased to announce that its 2026/2027 funding call is now open.

Funding is available through three award schemes:

Progression Awards
Supporting short, six-month projects that bring together academics and non-academic partners to develop collaborations, strengthen partnerships, and progress ideas towards future fundable projects. Each award has a maximum value of £50,000.

Feasibility Awards
Supporting projects that apply university research to real-world challenges and help bridge the gap in late-stage innovation. These awards can support activities such as proof-of-concept studies, market assessments, prototypes, engagement with end users, networking, training, and dissemination. Each award has a maximum value of £100,000.

Mobility Awards
Supporting the mobility and development of early career researchers and technical staff through placements, secondments, exchanges, and training activities. These awards aim to strengthen links between academia, industry, and other partner organisations. Each award has a maximum value of £100,000.

Applications should align with the RIPEN Hub’s 2026/2027 research priority areas and cross-cutting themes. For this year, we have two cross-cutting themes and five research priority areas:

The two cross-cutting themes are:

1. Nutritional inequalities, diversity and inclusion

2. Machine learning and technology, including big/secondary data

The five research priority areas are:

1. Appetite dysregulation and nutrition interactions, including incretin-mimicking drugs 

2. Dietary fibre, fermented foods and physiology

3. Physiology of novel foods/food matrices and nutrient bioavailability

4. Food processing, innovation and reformulation

5. Nutrition and healthy ageing

The deadline for all three calls is Friday 12th June 2026. The earliest funded activities can start from 1st October 2026.

Applicants should be members of the RIPEN Hub. Those who are not yet members should complete the online membership form via the RIPEN Hub website.

For further guidance, application forms, and eligibility details, please check the calls information.

For questions, please contact Katerina Petropoulou at ripenhub@imperial.ac.uk.