Key information:

Call Guidelines 2025/26Link opens in a new window

Application FormLink opens in a new window

Warwick Requirements FormLink opens in a new window

Key dates:

Applications open: Monday 10 March 2025

Applications close: Monday 21 April 2025

Awards begin: Friday 1 August 2025

Awards finish: Friday 31 July 2026

Objectives:

National University of Singapore (NUS) and the University of Warwick (Warwick) aim to promote early-stage collaboration among researchers on both sides through provision of seed funds to explore possible areas of research collaborations and to develop and reinforce lasting contacts with the very best researchers in their field.

Researchers are expected to achieve at least one of the following outcomes by the end of the project period:

• Researchers/students from one Institution shall carry out research under the Project in the other Institution; or
• Researchers from one Institution shall give at least one specialised lecture (in-person or online) in the other Institution; or
• Jointly hold a physical/online workshop at either Institution; or
• The submission of at least one joint co-authored publication; or
• Jointly apply for national/international competitive grant or other sources of external funding; or
• Other outcomes of equal value.

Funding:

Funding will be provided jointly by Warwick and NUS and will be comprised of up to £5,000 from Warwick to the Warwick academic and up to S$8,500 from NUS to the NUS academic.

NUS and Warwick are committed to award up to 3 projects in the areas of

• mechanobiology
• antimicrobial resistance
• computational social science

Proposals with the potential for sustainability beyond the initial funding period will be given preference.

Examples of allowable expenditure include:

Eligible costs will typically include:

• Reasonable travel and visa costs;
• Accommodation;
• Reasonable event/workshop costs;
• Research support.

The Seed Fund will not typically fund:

• Infrastructure and equipment;
• Overhead/central support charges;
• Non-NUS or Warwick staff expenses (including travel and accommodation);
• Salaries and honoraria of permanent and fixed term staff.

Eligibility:

At NUS, the fund is open to full-time academic staff only, with at least 75% time at NUS and a contract period that outlasts the project period.

At Warwick, applicants must be permanent or fixed-term academic staff with a contract period that outlasts the project period.

Adjunct/Honorary staff members whose home institution is neither NUS nor Warwick are not eligible to be PIs but can be listed as further co-investigators.

How to apply:

The PIs from NUS and Warwick need to work together to prepare a single pdf application. The application needs to be submitted to only NUS using their application portal. Please note that Microsoft Form only allows people within the organisation to upload files, NUS PI should upload the complete joint application (including the Warwick Requirements Form) and two-page CVs in a single pdf file on behalf of the team to this application portal before it expires on 21 April 2025 Singapore Time.