Applications for the 2026 RACS Scholarships and Grants Program opened in March, attracting high quality and varied applications. Valued at just over $1.5 million, the Program offered 38 Learning and Development Grants s and 18 Research Scholarships s. In total 184 applications were received for the Learning and Development Grants and 161 for the Research Scholarships A detailed breakdown of applicant demographics and recipient data is provided at the end of the article.

Research group (from top-left): Charles Risbey, Edward White, Eve Hopping, Geraldine Ooi, Jacques Eastment, Jineel Rayathatha, Joel Petit, Johnathan Sivakumar, Kay Hon, Kilian Brown, Mark Seifman, Mina Sarofim, Sina Babazadeh, Su Kah Goh, Thomas Warburton, William MacFaul.

The Scholarships and Grants team would like to thank the reviewers who volunteered their time to assess the applications. We would also like to thank the Foundation for Surgery, along with the generous Fellows and benefactors who have established these living legacies and bequests. Without their support the RACS Scholarships and Grants Program would not be possible. It is with great appreciation that we celebrate our 2026 recipients.

Learning and Development grant recipients (from top-left): Amanda Nikolic, Barry Kweh, Christopher Shean, Cooper Hill, Darius Ashrafi, Ella Imber-Ireland, Ernest Cheng, Jenny Tran, Jonthan Sivakumar, Julia Tairua-Doyle, Justin Cain, Keaton Buhagiar, Lauren Daneel, Lisa Brown, Luke O'Neil, Maccalla Fenn, Marnique Basto, Meg Beaumont, Megan Cain, Michael Stweart, Nagendra Dudi-Venkata, Nicola Fleming, Nuwan Dharmawar, Richard Shaw, Sally Ng, Sara Lai, Sheshang Kamath, Tavis Read.

Congratulations to our successful recipients. The high calibre of the applications made the reviewers and interview panel’s jobs difficult, with very close scores for several grants and scholarships. We would encourage all applicants to re-apply when the 2027 Program opens in March 2026.