Seed funding

To ignite innovation through global partnership, we have developed a range of seed funding opportunities for academic staff.

Current seed funding opportunities

Una Europa FU Berlin Starter Fund

Open to applications from lecturers and heads of departments at the University of Edinburgh to work on joint teaching and research projects, digitalisation or joint applications for research funding.

Maximum funding amount: 10,000€

The funding will be allocated and managed by the FU Berlin lead, but participating students and academics from Una partners will be able to use the funding for travel and accommodation expenses, guest activities etc. 

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Find out more about the Una Europa Starter Funds

 

Lund University Get Started 2026 funding call

Deadline: 15 April

Lund University invites researchers at selected partner universities, including the University of Edinburgh, to apply for joint funding with Lund researchers with the new Get Started Funding supporting collaborative research, with up to SEK 32,000 per award.  

Applications must be submitted by Lund University researchers, but the funds can support networking activities such as visits and meetings for researchers at both Lund and Edinburgh.

Apply for the Get Started 2026 funding call

 

New Leiden University Una Europa Seed Funding

Leiden University’s Una Europa team is launching a seed funding call to support cross‑border projects and partnerships with their Una Europa partners, with three funding strands available:

  • Early-Career Researcher (ECR) Mobility and Collaboration.
  • Lifelong Learning (LLO) Innovation
  • Strategic and Interdisciplinary Initiatives.

This call offers researchers (including PhD candidates and postdocs), teachers and non-academic staff the opportunity to apply for grants of between €5,000 and €15,000 are available to support activities such as:

  • research exchanges
  • collaborative pilot projects
  • co-created short or blended courses
  • preparatory work for external funding proposals
  • other initiatives which help bring Una Europa to life at Leiden University.

Proposals must be led by Leiden University staff members. If you would like to be connected to potential collaborators, email us at:

una.europa@ed.ac.uk 


Upcoming seed funding opportunities

Rice University, Texas (collaborative seed funding opportunities from 2023 - 2025)


University of Toronto, Ontario (collaborative seed funding opportunities from 2021 - 2024) 


Funding outcomes

We have been deepening and strengthening key partnerships in North America, to access funding and build links to research and industry. Combining expertise and resources through partnerships has grown the opportunity for Edinburgh to contribute to solving global challenges more effectively and impactfully. 

Find out more about our seed funding collaborations in North America


Seed funding toolkit

The Edinburgh Global Partnerships & Community team have developed a seed funding toolkit.

This is a guide for people who are leading, managing and delivering academic partnership development seed funds. 

Users of the toolkit can build their strategic and operational understanding of the topic by exploring the full lifecycle of seed funds and accessing a wide range of example documentation.

View our seed funding toolkit on our partnerships resources webpage

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