Deadline Date: March 25, 2026
The Innovate UK is seeking grant applications to support the development of robotics skills, talent, and training through course content and materials that address the current skills gap in the UK.
The program’s focus areas include bridging the skills gap in robotics, creating and delivering course content and materials, supporting apprenticeships and internships, upskilling and reskilling the existing workforce, offering technical courses and vocational training, providing undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing professional development opportunities, and engaging schools in robotics education.
The aim of this competition is to prepare a workforce capable of specifying, procuring, integrating, operating, and maintaining robotics across a broad range of applications, including drones operating on land, sea, and air; autonomous plant and service robots; and industrial robots or automated machinery using sensors, actuators, and control software. Projects that are purely software-based are not eligible.
Eligible projects must request grant funding between £100,000 and £500,000, start by 1 August 2026, end by 31 January 2027, and last between three and six months. Funded organisations must carry out project work in the UK and intend to exploit the results within the UK. Projects must start on the first day of the month and cannot commence until the Grant Offer Letter has been approved by Innovate UK.
Applicants should only include eligible project costs in their application and ensure they comply with the guidance outlined in the competition’s eligibility criteria. This initiative forms part of the £52 million Robotics Adoption Programme and will complement a new network of Robotics Adoption Hubs, with the related competition expected to be announced soon.
For more information, visit GOV.UK.
