Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunities at Lancaster University

I welcome enquiries from outstanding researchers who would like to develop a postdoctoral fellowship application with me as their prospective supervisor or UK sponsor at Lancaster University.

This is an invitation to prepare a competitive application for external fellowship funding, rather than an advertisement for an already funded postdoctoral position. A strong proposal takes time to shape. Please contact me at least three months before the relevant funder's deadline so that we can identify a topic of mutual interest, assess eligibility and develop the application together.

Fellowship routes

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship

The European Postdoctoral Fellowship is open to researchers of any nationality who are moving within Europe or coming to Europe from elsewhere in the world. The fellowship normally lasts 12–24 months.

Applicants must hold a PhD, or have successfully defended their doctoral thesis, by the call deadline. They must normally have no more than eight years of research experience after the PhD and must satisfy the scheme's mobility rule. The application is developed jointly by the researcher and host organisation.

The 2027 MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships call is currently scheduled to open on 7 April 2027, with a deadline of 8 September 2027 at 17:00 CEST. Prospective applicants should therefore contact me by early June 2027 at the latest, and preferably earlier.

• Read the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships overview
• Check the official MSCA funding calendar

Newton International Fellowship

The Newton International Fellowship supports outstanding early-career researchers who are based outside the UK and wish to conduct research in the UK. The award currently provides support for two years.

Applicants must be non-UK citizens based outside the UK, must have completed or defended their PhD by the application deadline, and must have no more than five years of active full-time postdoctoral experience after the PhD, allowing for eligible career breaks. Projects submitted through the Royal Society must fall within its natural-sciences remit, which includes engineering and mathematics.

The dates for the 2027 round have not yet been announced. For reference, the 2026 round ran from 15 January to 11 March 2026. The Royal Society permits each UK academic sponsor to support only one application per round. I will therefore be able to sponsor only one selected Newton applicant in a given round.

• Read the Newton International Fellowship guidance

Research areas

I am particularly interested in proposals connected with:

• transportation systems and public transport;
• operations research, optimisation and mathematical modelling;
• transit and traffic assignment;
• network modelling and mobility systems;
• logistics and supply chains;
• traveller behaviour; and
• data-driven and computational methods for transport planning and operations.

These areas are indicative rather than exhaustive. The most important requirement is a strong research question that fits both the applicant's expertise and our mutual research interests.

How to express interest

Please email yujiang@lancaster.ac.uk with the subject line “Postdoctoral Fellowship Enquiry – [Your Name]” and include:

1. your academic CV;
2. a brief description of your proposed research idea, ideally one page;
3. the fellowship scheme you are considering;
4. your PhD award or expected defence date and current institution/country;
5. a short explanation of your eligibility, including the relevant mobility or postdoctoral-experience requirements; and
6. links to, or copies of, up to three representative publications or working papers.

I will consider the fit between the proposed topic, the applicant's track record, eligibility and the time available to prepare a competitive submission. An initial discussion does not guarantee support or funding, and all applications remain subject to Lancaster University's internal approval processes and the funder's rules.

Planning ahead

Both schemes are highly competitive and require a genuinely joint proposal-development process. Early contact gives us time to refine the research question, clarify the contribution, assemble the work plan, and develop the training, impact and career-development elements expected in a strong fellowship application.

Please consult the official scheme pages before contacting me, as eligibility rules, dates and application requirements may change. The minimum lead time is three months before the external deadline; earlier enquiries are strongly encouraged.