The Vest Scholarships unite talented young engineers across the UK and beyond with leading engineering institutions in the United States to solve the world's most pressing challenges.

The programme offers international graduate students the opportunity to spend an expense-paid year at a leading US engineering school pursuing research into one of the 14 NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering:

  • Make solar energy economical
  • Provide energy from fusion
  • Develop carbon sequestration methods
  • Manage the nitrogen cycle
  • Provide access to clean water
  • Restore and improve urban infrastructure
  • Advance health informatics
  • Engineer better medicines
  • Reverse-engineer the brain
  • Prevent nuclear terror
  • Secure cyberspace
  • Enhance virtual reality
  • Advance personalised learning
  • Engineer the tools of scientific discovery

About the scholarship

Vest scholars will receive

  • Living and travel expenses and tuition covered by the host institution for the 12 month duration of the scholarship (some scholarships may be for research only)
  • An opportunity to perform research in the laboratory of a leading faculty scholar
  • Access to relevant engineering classes and academic credit towards their graduate degrees (subject to policies of the host institution and agreement between host and student's home institution)

Eligibility criteria

  • Applicants must be enrolled in a graduate-level engineering or engineering-related programme at an eligible institution during the scholarship year
  • Applicants must provide a compelling proposal for conducting research and study in a selected Grand Challenge area during the 12 month scholarship period
Vest Scholars website

Scholarship partners