02.06.2025

Wits / UT: Seed Funding 2025

Deadline: 30th of June 2025

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits) and the University of Tübingen (UT) are jointly contributing funds to support collaborative research initiatives through a joint call for proposals. Applicants from all schools and disciplines are encouraged to submit funding applications for innovative and sustainable projects.

Max. Grant Amount: 10.000€ per collaborative project (budget needs to be divided equally between Wits und UT)

Purpose: Planning a larger collaborative initiative or preparing an external grant application Application

Deadline: 30th of June 2025
(Wits funds to be used by 30th of November 2025, UT funds to be used by 31st of December 2026)

Who can apply: Applications must be submitted by a team of researchers from both universities and include at least one full-time research or teaching faculty member (with a doctoral degree) from each university. Graduate students and postdocs can be part of the team.

How to apply: Please request an application form from a contact below. Send one joint application form to alison.simonsspam prevention@wits.ac.za and international.researchspam prevention@uni-tuebingen.de 

The following costs or activities can be covered by the Seed Grant:

• Travel costs to visit project partners, including lab rotations, joint graduate training activities or collaborative projects;
• Organization of joint workshops or seminars on the research topic for researchers and graduate students
• Other costs directly related to project planning or implementation 

Other Funding: The Seed Grant can be combined with other grants, provided funds are not covering the same activities or costs.

Selection Process: Applications will be evaluated by a joint Wits-UT committee.

Projects will be selected in accordance with the following main criteria:

• Academic quality of the proposal including ambition, innovation, output and impact (40%)
• Clarity of project intentions, including project planning and budget feasibility (25%)
• Potential for sustained partnership between Wits and UT & follow-up funding prospects (25%)
• Alignment with strategic research priorities of the universities (for UT: Core Research Areas and Profile Areas, for Wits: Eight Priorities) (10%)

Contacts:
Wits: Alison Simons ([email protected])
UT: Elmar Hofman ([email protected])