University of Bonn joint education seed funding scheme

The University has launched the first call of the Bonn-St Andrews joint education seed funding scheme.

Purpose

The University of Bonn and the University of St Andrews have launched a new joint seed funding scheme to strengthen educational cooperation within the framework of our strategic partnership.

This funding initiative is designed to support academic staff from all disciplines in identifying complementary strengths, exploring areas of synergy, and laying the groundwork for innovative future projects.

The seed funding is intended to facilitate the initial stages of collaboration, and it is not intended to serve as full project funding.

Possible formats for cooperation may include:

• pedagogical seminars or workshops
• joint curriculum and course development
• collaborative teaching initiatives
• joint doctoral training activities
• joint mentorship and training schemes
• graduate summer or winter programmes, or both
• virtual exchange or Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
• development of shared educational resources or toolkits

Selection criteria and process

Applications will be reviewed and scored by selection committees at Bonn and St Andrews. The selection committees will evaluate each application using the following criteria.

Academic quality and innovation

• The academic quality of the proposed activities
• The contribution to novel thinking
• Ability to cut across disciplines
• Innovation of education and teaching formats, methods, design, and their impact on educational outcomes for students

Anticipated outcomes and scalability of the project

• A formulated plan for the project and the likelihood that it will lead to a long-term, sustainable educational relationship and generate on-going collaboration.
• How best practice can be scaled or adapted for implementation at other levels, such as across faculties or the wider institution.

Impact and legacy

How the work may gain wide recognition or have a legacy once completed. If relevant, the expected changes beyond the discipline or disciplines and academia.

Partnership and strategic relevance

• How the education or teaching project will be shared with the broader academic communities at each institution, and how it will promote and consolidate the relationship between the two universities.
• How the project aligns with and contributes to the strategic goals of both universities.
• How the project supports the specific teaching priorities of the relevant Faculty, School, or Department.

The selection committees reserve the right to allocate less funding compared to the amount requested by the applicants. The selection shall take into consideration the project's subject area and type, to encourage the widest possible range of activities.

Duration and key dates

Project timelines should be clearly outlined in the application and may not exceed 12 months from the project start date.

Call opens:

Monday 16 June 2025

Applications close:

Monday 10 November 2025

Outcomes announced:

December 2025

Projects commence:

Thursday 1 January 2026. Projects will start no later than January 2026.

Projects complete:

Thursday 31 December 2026

Funding must be spent by December 2026.

How to apply

Terms and conditions of open call

The supported activities should have a clearly defined focus and serve as a catalyst for the development of new joint projects. The activities can take place in Bonn and or in St Andrews or via digital formats. The motivation for holding the activity should be clearly explained, including how the involved Bonn and St Andrews Faculties and Schools can benefit long-term from this cooperation.

• A project must be carried out by at least two applicants, one from each institution, who will work together to build a joint proposal. Applicants should be full-time or part-time academic staff with a contract of employment until at least the end of the project. It is strongly recommended that each institution include co-applicants (one or more). Participation of students and early career researchers is strongly encouraged.
• Awarded projects should lead to concrete outputs and develop best practice in teaching and education. Awardees are asked to consider in the application how project results and best practice could be shared with other colleagues at their institutions.
• All academic fields covered jointly by Bonn and St Andrews are included in the present call, and interdisciplinary projects are encouraged, as long as the resulting project is beneficial for both universities.
• Projects aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are particularly welcomed.
• For St Andrews applicants: if your project requires support from a professional service unit for its delivery, please ensure that these requirements are discussed and agreed upon prior to submitting your application.
• Projects may also include the participation of self-funded external investigators or partner institutions where relevant.

Up to two projects will be jointly funded by Bonn and St Andrews in the pilot call.

Proposals

Each proposal must include the following items in the order listed below as one single PDF.

1. Names, titles, Departments or Schools and emails of Bonn and St Andrews Principal Investigators (PIs) and any other academic staff involved in the activities.
2. Type of collaborative activity.
3. Project title and layperson abstract of the proposed project, up to 250 words.
4. Narrative description of no more than two pages of the proposed project for a multi-school, multidisciplinary audience using the following sub-headings:
   • project objective
   • background and previous work as appropriate
   • specific outputs expected
   • explanation of how you will evaluate the success of your project
   • anticipated schedule for completion
5. Brief description of how the project will address the selection criteria using the following subheadings:
   • academic quality and innovation (maximum 150 words)
   • anticipated outcomes and scalability of the project (maximum 150 words)
   • impact and legacy (maximum 150 words)
   • partnership and strategic relevance (maximum 150 words)
6. Budget and budget justification, with one section for the Bonn budget and one section for the St Andrews budget, explaining in detail all anticipated expenditures.
7. Short CV of Principal Investigators of no more than two pages.
8. For St Andrews applicants only, a brief letter from your Head of School endorsing the application.

Proposals will be reviewed by selection committee members from multiple disciplines and must be written for such an audience. The same proposal and budget for each application must be sent to the University of St Andrews and to the University of Bonn.

Submitting your application

Completed applications must:

• be submitted through the following two forms:
  • University of St Andrews online form
  • University of Bonn online form
• be received by both Universities by Monday 10 November 2025 at 4pm GMT (5pm CET)

Results

Applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application by December 2025.

Successful applicants will receive a joint letter of confirmation from both institutions as well as an Acceptance of Award letter that must be signed and returned by the due date to the Global Office at the University of St Andrews and the International Office at the University of Bonn.  

Award funding

Each successful application will receive up to £5,000, approximately €6,000, in total or £2,500 from St Andrews and €3,000 from Bonn, respectively. Up to two projects will be awarded in the 2025 call of the scheme.

Co-funding of projects by the Faculty, Department, School, Institute or Centre, or external bodies, is welcomed.

After submitting all award agreement documents, successful applicants will receive the funds within one month.

Awardees will be responsible for:

• managing the project funds
• reporting expenditures
• facilitating the sharing of funds with their partner PI where required

Expenses can include:

• costs linked to organisation of joint meetings, seminars or workshops
• cost of developing shared online resources, for example, video editing, websites or toolkits
• consumables needed for the implementation of the project
• travel, accommodation and subsistence costs
• costs related to publication or dissemination of results, or both
• hourly pay for full-time enrolled Bonn or St Andrews students to support activities

The following expenses are not allowed:

• salaries or salary supplementation of any kind (except for COIL tutors, learning technologists or facilitators)
• indirect and overhead costs
• course fees, stipends or scholarships for students
• infrastructure and equipment purchases, such as computers, including laptops and basic computing facilities such as printers, word processing and other standard software
• conference registrations unrelated to the dissemination of results
• costs already incurred before submission of the proposal

After submitting all award agreement documents, successful applicants will receive the funds within one month.

Awardees will be responsible for:

• managing the project funds
• reporting expenditures
• facilitating the sharing of funds with their partner PI where required

Change of circumstances

If circumstances change, for example, the principal investigator or a team member leaves the project, awardees must provide notification to the Global Office at the University of St Andrews and the International Office at University of Bonn. All changes must be approved in writing. 

Publications

Any publications or dissemination arising from activities supported by this joint seed funding should acknowledge financial assistance received from the University of St Andrews and the University of Bonn. The name for this acknowledgement is ‘Joint Seed Funding (Education) provided by the University of St Andrews and the University of Bonn’.

Forfeiture of grants

Grants not spent by the project end date will be transferred back, either to the University of St Andrews or the University of Bonn as applicable so that unspent balances can be reallocated. 

Financial and reporting obligations

Recipients must submit a final report within one month of completion of the project.

The report should include:

• an outline of the outcomes of the project
• an indication of the project’s possible continuation
• a summary of lessons learned in undertaking the project
• a detailed accounting of funds as required by university policy

Recipients who fail to submit a final report may be excluded from future internationalisation funding schemes. 

Award expectations

Principal Investigators may be asked to:

• share brief updates about project progress
• engage with Bonn-St Andrews partnership events and opportunities notify the International Office at Bonn and the Global Office at St Andrews of project visits or activities that take place in either location

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

Adherence to respective equality, diversity, and inclusion policies are an important feature of this programme to ensure that all participants can do their best work, thrive and succeed.

Applicant teams should consider how they can take meaningful steps in their future collaborations to foster an environment that values, supports and respects a diverse range of views, knowledge and experiences.

Applicants should consider EDI as it applies to gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, disability and career stages.

Sustainable research travel

Both universities recognise the importance of organising in-person meetings and events to support the development of collaborative projects. Therefore, both institutions encourage applicants to consider the environmental impact of their collaboration.

Please refer to the University of St Andrews’ Sustainable Research and Business Travel webpage and the University of Bonn’s Guidelines on Sustainability in International Cooperation for more information.