Ambassadors for Science

The programme

Ambassadors for Science was a CONNECTS-UK initiative designed to strengthen the connections between EU researchers, UK-based policymakers, and EU diplomats. It provided EU researchers based in the UK with the opportunity to engage with policy and diplomacy, share their scientific expertise, and gain insight into decision-making processes. By fostering dialogue and collaboration, the programme highlighted the role of research in informing policy and addressing societal challenges.

The purpose of the programme was threefold:

  • To enhance understanding by exposing researchers to the processes of policy and diplomacy and showing policymakers the value of scientific evidence
  • To foster connections by creating networks and opportunities for ongoing dialogue between the research and policy communities
  • To support long-term impact by strengthening EU–UK relations and demonstrating the role of researchers as contributors beyond academia.

In this first edition, the programme successfully brought together 8 Researcher–Policymaker/Diplomat pairs, building a foundation for what we hope will develop into a wider and more sustained effort.

The model has shown strong potential to grow through partnerships with EU research diaspora organisations across Europe.

A Terms of Reference for the programme is available for those wishing to learn more about its structure, eligibility, and goals.

What participants said

The impact of Ambassadors for Science is best understood through the experiences of those who took part.

In January 2026 CONNECTS-UK held the 4th Annual Meeting of the European Scientific Diasporas at the Embassy of Italy in London, which brought together researchers, diplomats and policy experts to discuss the future of EU-UK research collaborations and communities. In this event there was a roundtable organised with participants from Ambassadors for Science, showcasing their experiences being part of the programme. The participants in the roundtable were Minna Jalili (Policy Officer – Research & Innovation, European Delegation to the UK), Eva Junque (Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of Birmingham), Monserrat Conde (Researcher, University of Oxford), and Francois Sicard (Director for Innovation & Enterprise and Assistant Professor in Interdisciplinary Sciences and Engineering, University College London).

In this roundtable, both sides of the pairing scheme described a “win-win situation” that pushed them beyond their usual “bubbles” and challenged long-held certainties. Researchers valued the opportunity to make their work “visible beyond academia,” discovering new avenues such as open parliamentary calls and policy engagement, while diplomats/policymakers spoke of how exposure to academic “critical thinking” enriched their own practice. Both sides noted learning a new professional language, with researchers adopting a “diplomatic gaze” and diplomats/policymakers gaining insight into how academic life works. Concrete outcomes included co-publishing, visits to government premises, and plans for joint funding applications — with many participants finding “much more in common than they thought” and committing to continuing their mentoring relationships.

In February 2026, CONNECTS-UK hosted its Closing Event, including a roundtable on “Science diplomacy and science policy” in its agenda. Among the speakers in this roundtable there was one of the pairs that participated in Ambassadors for Science, Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo (Senior Lecturer, Alliance Manchester Business School) and José María Robles Fraga (Minister Counsellor for Culture and Science, Embassy of Spain in the UK). On their experience in the programme they shared:

“I visited the Embassy of Spain in London and I had a chance to understand better, from a practitioner perspective, what science diplomacy means. […] When Mr. Robles visited, I thought: ‘How do I explain what a social scientist does?’ […] So we organised an event with diplomats, policymakers, and researchers. […]. It was a good way to put together in the same room the people that do science diplomacy with the people that study science diplomacy.”

Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo (Senior Lecturer, Alliance Manchester Business School)

“The event was fantastic, it was about how we define, understand, explain [science diplomacy], and how we can use it for the challenges that are ahead of us. […]. Science has become a great opportunity, a great factor of transformation, and a defining factor. […]. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet the researchers at the University of Manchester.”

José María Robles Fraga (Minister Counsellor for Culture and Science, Embassy of Spain in the UK)