Training and Development Bursaries
The Radio Academy is a registered charity, dedicated to the promotion of excellence in the radio and audio industry in the UK. We exist to support people at all stages of their audio careers. With our Radio Academy bursaries, we aim to support people to take part in training or development opportunities, who might be underrepresented in the industry or not have the means to pay the costs involved out of their own pocket. This might include contributions towards ticket fees, transport or accommodation.
At various points in the year, we advertise opportunities for bursaries for our own events, or other events that we've partnered with, and these will all be listed on this page. We will usually ask that you provide us a write-up of the event or training that you attended, how it has helped you and how you will give back by sharing the knowledge with others.
The Radio Academy Festival 2024
We are offering ten Bursaries to The Radio Academy Festival 2024, including a free ticket, a year's free Affiliate Membership of The Radio Academy, and a contribution towards travel. You can apply here: Radio Academy Festival Bursaries - Radio Academy
Over to former bursary recipient and now The Radio Academy's Project Manager, Alexandra Forrest: "It's no exaggeration to say receiving the bursary to attend the Radio Academy Festival in 2022 was a game-changer for me. As an independent podcaster living outside London, attending industry events often felt out of reach, so I was delighted to learn bursaries were available to support those starting out in the industry. After completing a really straight-forward application, I was over the moon to be given the opportunity to attend. I found the whole day a total joy and left feeling inspired at what I'd heard at the talks, energised by the conversations I'd had with people across industry and it completely reaffirmed my decision to switch careers and move into the wonderful world of audio. Apply!"
Bursaries for Radio TechCon 2023
In 2023, we contributed five bursary places to the Radio TechCon Bursary Scheme, and offered every bursary recipient free Radio Academy Membership.
Find out more about the annual event and how to apply for the Bursary Scheme at Radio TechCon.
"Radio Tech Con was a fantastic conference and way to get a heads up on current industry tech issues and invaluable conference that has helping me keep me in the tech loop. It was great to meet such a diverse range of audio professionals across sectors and hear about the new research on neurodiverse listening. Very interesting to get an update on current spectrum issues and how stations broadcast through the war in Ukraine and London Bridge. Also fascinating to hear about audio faking and cloning how Adobe is working to encrypt files. Always good to hear about the latest BBC research and current podcast projects direct as well. Really useful and inspiring day which I will be sharing with my students." (Bursary recipient)
Bursary reports for The Podcast Show, May 2022
"I was flabbergasted before the show by just how many different presentations were being offered. Each of the various streams of presentations and lectures, offered something of interest to me. There are so many I thought it might be difficult to work one’s way round each of them. What caught me by surprise was how popular some were with queues forming outside some of the stages well before the events started". - Andrew Stuck
"Personally, I was looking to draw on experience from all kinds of areas - both creative and business-related - in order to get a feel for the industry as a whole and its direction of travel, as well as augmenting my skill set with some great tips. I hope that many of the talks were recorded for attendees to access at a later date, as the wealth of knowledge is priceless". - Rachel Porter
Bursary report for GROW, June 2022
"I came to the conference with a hope of finding out how to make my podcast financially sustainable, having not yet previously delved into the world of advertising - entirely self-funding at present - as well as learning about new ways of increasing and diversifying my audience. I wasn’t disappointed! The unexpected joy of the day though, was meeting and networking with fellow podcasters. It hadn’t struck home, until that point, that I’d never met, or spoken to anyone else who produces a podcast. I met and exchanged details with some great people; we shared our experiences, we helped each other out, and really sparked off hearing what other people do. It was such an incredibly welcoming, proactive, positive community to be around, and it’s really make me realise, it’s an industry and community that I really want to continue being a part of. It feels like home" - Hannah Sylvester
Bursary reports for Podcast Day 24, June 2021
A whole day devoted to sharing insights and answering questions on all things related to the art of podcasting - what’s not to like? I’m still catching up on sessions I didn’t get to on the day and revisiting the ones I did. That’s how rich the programme was. - George Luke
Podcast Day 24 was an incredibly informative and useful experience for me. I’ve recently taken up a producer role to reboot an outlet's podcast, so being able to get meticulous insight into what the industry landscape looks like, not just in the UK but in Europe and the rest of the English-speaking world, was invaluable - Pascal Maguet
All the sessions were enjoyable, informative and valuable. In each of them there was always a little gem, at least, that could be found and taken away. In some ways, I had already started to do some of the ideas that were suggested and that have been proven by podcasters and producers, and this encouraged me to carry on doing what I am doing. In other instances, it encouraged me to take a greater look at what I am currently doing and consolidate these new suggestions and ideas. - Joyanna Lovelock
