--- title: "UKRI -5498 TechFirst undergraduate and Sparck AI scholarships: Cohort Management Function (Lot 1), Recruitment Function (Lot 2)" ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-066fdc" canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-066fdc" markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066fdc.md" json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066fdc.json" source: "Find A Tender Service" current_stage: "Tender" buyer: "UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION (UKRI)" published: "2026-04-22" --- # UKRI -5498 TechFirst undergraduate and Sparck AI scholarships: Cohort Management Function (Lot 1), Recruitment Function (Lot 2) Buyer: UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION (UKRI) Current stage: Tender OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-066fdc [View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-066fdc) [Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066fdc.json) ## Summary The public procurement process led by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) involves an open tender for delivering specialist scholarship programmes structured into two Lots: the Cohort Management Function and the Recruitment Function. The procurement is currently at the tender stage, with submissions accepted until 29th May 2026. UKRI seeks services across education and training, project-management, recruitment, and software development, among others, with the project covering the entirety of the United Kingdom. The initiative aims to support the TechGrad Scholars at undergraduate and Spärck AI Scholars at the master's level, with a high emphasis on quality and cost-effectiveness. Interested parties should note that the contract period commences on 15th July 2026 and ends on 31st August 2027, offering a considerable gross contract value of £6,516,602. This tender is poised to open substantial business growth opportunities, particularly for firms specialising in education management, recruitment services, and software development. Organisations are encouraged to leverage their capabilities in delivering high-quality, scalable services to enhance participant experience and support strategic objectives. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprises (VCSEs) are seen as ideal contenders given UKRI's openness to diverse supplier types. The procurement process involves collaborative efforts, making it appealing to businesses with robust networking abilities and proven track records in managing multi-stakeholder engagements in the education sector. ## Notice UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is procuring a managed service to support the delivery of its specialist scholarship programmes at scale. The procurement is structured into two Lots, covering recruitment and cohort management services. Lot 1 - Cohort Management Services: The appointed supplier will be responsible for the ongoing administration and management of scholarship cohorts. This includes hosting a student engagement platform, coordinating work placements, developing and delivering skills and knowledge-building activities, organising events, and managing relationships with multiple stakeholders. The cohort management service will support TechGrad Scholars (undergraduate) and Sparck AI Scholars (master's level). Lot 2 - Recruitment Management Services: The appointed supplier will be responsible for designing and delivering end-to-end recruitment campaigns across multiple scholarship programmes. This includes hosting and managing a recruitment platform, administering and assessing applications against criteria defined by UKRI (Innovate UK), identifying candidates best suited to the programmes, and collaborating with other managed service providers delivering elements of the wider programme. The supplier will also be required to report against agreed key performance indicators (KPIs). The recruitment service will support TechGrad Scholarships (undergraduate), Semiconductors Scholarships (undergraduate), and Sparck AI Scholarships (master's level). Across both Lots, suppliers will be expected to deliver high-quality, scalable services that enhance participant experience and contribute to the successful delivery of UKRI's strategic objectives. ### Lot Information Lot 1: Cohort Management Function Focus: programme delivery, student engagement, events, placements, stakeholder management Lot 2: Recruitment Function Focus: recruitment campaigns, application management, candidate assessment ### Planning Information Market engagement Webinar ## Key Details | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication source | Find A Tender Service | | Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036797-2026 | | Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice | | Procurement type | Standard | | Procurement category | Services | | Procurement method | Open | | Procurement method details | Open procedure | | Tender suitability | SME, VCSE | | Awardee scale | Not specified | | All stages | Planning, Tender | ## Dates | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Publication date | 22 Apr 2026 | | Submission deadline | 29 May 2026 | | Future notice date | 1 Apr 2026 | | Award date | Not specified | | Contract period | 14 Jul 2026 - 31 Aug 2027 | | Recurrence | Not specified | ## Values | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender value | £5,430,501 | | Lots value | £5,430,501 | | Awards value | Not specified | | Contracts value | Not specified | ## Status | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Tender status | Active | | Lots status | Active | | Awards status | Not specified | | Contracts status | Not specified | ## Buyer | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Main buyer | UK RESEARCH & INNOVATION (UKRI) | | Locality | SWINDON, WILTSHIRE | | Post town | Swindon | | Postcode | SN2 1FL | | Country | England | | ITL 1 | TLK South West (England) | | ITL 2 | TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire | | ITL 3 | TLK71 Swindon | | Local authority | Swindon | | Electoral ward | Rodbourne Cheney | | Westminster constituency | Swindon North | | Delivery location | Not specified | ## CPV Codes ### Divisions - 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support - 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security - 80 - Education and training services - 98 - Other community, social and personal services ### Codes - 72212190 - Educational software development services - 72230000 - Custom software development services - 72316000 - Data analysis services - 79421000 - Project-management services other than for construction work - 79600000 - Recruitment services - 79611000 - Job search services - 79635000 - Assessment centre services for recruitment - 80000000 - Education and training services - 80500000 - Training services - 98300000 - Miscellaneous services ## Release History - 22 Apr 2026 at 15:28 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036797-2026 - 20 Mar 2026 at 09:35 - Planning - UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025562-2026 ## Documents - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036797-2026 22nd April 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025562-2026 20th March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender ## Notice URLs - https://ukri2.my.salesforce-sites.com/ProSpend__CS_ContractPage?SearchType=Projects&uid=a1MTm000009ljMHMAY&searchStr=&sortStr=Recently+Published&page=1&filters=&County= - https://ukri2.my.site.com - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents - https://www.ukri.org/ ## Provenance This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-066fdc. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-066fdc.json.