GW4 Crucible offers a unique opportunity for future research leaders from different disciplines to come together and, for next year’s theme celebrating 10 years, develop innovative research imagining new futures.
What could the world look like in 10 years, how about 100 years? What would it look like to research imagined futures?
To celebrate 10 years of GW4 Crucible, we are inviting early career researchers from across the GW4 Alliance universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter, to explore possible outcomes and shape a desired future through critical thinking and creativity.
The GW4 Crucible programme brings together 30 competitively selected future research leaders to explore how they can increase the impact of their research by working with others across radically different disciplines and initiating new collaborations.
It is open to all disciplines and aims to leverage expertise from politics to computer science, from architecture to health, and from history to engineering, to generate innovative, multifaceted and radically interdisciplinary approaches to research which will shape future generations.
Imagining completely different futures offers a way for researchers to interrogate complex and interconnected national and global challenges, from the rise of AI and demographic shifts, to public health, climate change and the rising cost of living.
The hybrid programme consists of in-person residentials and online masterclasses, during which the researchers explore interdisciplinary and collaborative ways of working and have the chance to connect with expert guest speakers, enhancing their professional networks and visibility.
Dr Harriet Hunt, a Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, who attended GW4 Crucible 2025 would encourage others to apply: “GW4 Crucible is a great opportunity to collaborate across disciplines and creatively explore how different research topics shape society and cultures. Applying for and participating in the GW4 Crucible programme was a key step toward my goal of making research more creative, practical and inclusive. Too often research is stuck in silos. GW4 Crucible offers a chance to break down those barriers by bringing together diverse experts to find new ways of turning research into real-world impact.
“Research doesn’t exist in isolation - it thrives on collaboration. Now, more than ever, we need creative, inclusive thinking to solve the world’s biggest challenges, and GW4 Crucible is the perfect place to kindle that flame.”
Dr Sabrina Fairchild, GW4 Talent and Skills Manager added: “GW4 Crucible is a unique programme providing researchers with an excellent opportunity to consider new approaches to their research and its impact, enhance their leadership potential and career development, and to network with peers and experts from across GW4 and beyond.
“I am delighted we are launching GW4 Crucible 2026 and for it to still be relevant and highly valued by researchers, going into its 10th year. It is a testament to the innovative and valuable content and structure of the programme which has developed and adapted over the years to meet the needs of different cohorts, and the changing education and research landscape while always providing exciting research challenges to expand horizons. I look forward to meeting the successful new cohort for 2026 and seeing how their interdisciplinary research projects and ideas develop as they delve into imaging new futures”
Following GW4 Crucible researchers have the opportunity to apply for seed funding to support the collaborative research projects that emerge within the programme.
Applications for GW4 Crucible 2026 are now open and information and guidance about how to apply can be found on the GW4 Crucible 2026 webpage. If you are a GW4 researcher with an interest in or expertise applicable to any aspect futures research, we want to hear from you!
Research doesn’t exist in isolation - it thrives on collaboration. Now, more than ever, we need creative, inclusive thinking to solve the world’s biggest challenges, and GW4 Crucible is the perfect place to kindle that flame.
I am delighted we are launching GW4 Crucible 2026 and for it to still be relevant and highly valued by researchers, going into its 10th year. It is a testament to the innovative and valuable content and structure of the programme which has developed and adapted over the years to meet the needs of different cohorts, and the changing education and research landscape while always providing exciting research challenges to expand horizons. I look forward to meeting the successful new cohort for 2026 and seeing how their interdisciplinary research projects and ideas develop as they delve into imaging new futures.
