Funding
Global Partnerships can offer both strategic and open funding calls in support of developing and strengthening our global relationships. Information regarding active funding calls can be found below.
- Unless otherwise stated in the guidelines, these funding calls are all largely defined as:
- Open to eligible members of the University of Exeter (acting as the lead PI).
- Will constitute a competitive bid process, during which applications will be,
- Peer-reviewed and assessed by theme / discipline / faculty relevant academics,
- Secondary review by members of the Global Partnerships Team and
- Final funding decisions will be ratified by an appropriate senior member of staff (academic or professional services, as appropriate).
All Global Partnerships funding schemes seek to support high-impact proposals and initiatives that endeavour to both directly and indirectly support both Faculty and University level Global Strategy plans. Examples of this might include initiatives and proposals that seek to bring together teams from Exeter and our partners from across the globe in support of high-impact collaborative research and education.
To ensure good alignment to Faculty and University level global plans, potential applicants to any of the below schemes are highly encouraged to discuss their applications with their Faculty APVC Global and / or Global Partnerships Business Partner.
Please also note that Global Partnerships funding is largely calculated on a financial year-to-year basis. Occasionally, the lifetime of the initiatives that our funding calls support will cross over financial year-end. On such occasions project PIs will be asked to declare (in advance of receiving funds) how their award should be split across the financial year-end.
All internal funding awards allocated by Global Partnerships must be delivered in line with principles of the University Sustainable Travel Policy University Travel Policy 2024.
Funding opportunities
There are numerous external opportunities available for our Exeter academics and students. Please see below links for further information on scholarships, fellowships and exchanges:
Following the Grand Challenges Initiator Grant Scheme introduced in summer 2024, ENSURE is now inviting applications to the Main Grant Scheme. This new phase commits substantive funding for up to three large projects which can demonstrate potential for research impact and securing external funding and collaboration.
Funding of up to £100,000, per year, across two academic years is available. An additional £50,000, of match-funding (in kind or monetary) must also be secured, for each of the two years.
The Grand Challenges Scheme intends to support collaborative projects that can achieve long-term research goals and real-world impacts. They shall be directly engaged with policy, industry, and civil society stakeholders in order to effect meaningful change, and will be developed sustainably beyond the funded project period. The projects must moreover clearly relate to one or more of the Grand Challenges, as listed:
GC1. To conserve and promote biodiversity in sustainable ways, and to optimise societal benefits from genomic to ecosystem scale
GC2. To enhance monitoring and forecast capability of climate extremes in the developing world to help adaptation of regional economies
GC3. To promote, manage and finance ecosystem- based solutions to climate change, and to enhance co-benefits with multiple Sustainable Development Goals
GC4. To build and finance efficient and sustainable energy systems
GC5. To ensure food and water security for vulnerable communities from local to regional scales
GC6. To facilitate and encourage behavioural changes to address food-water-energy nexus and climate change challenges
The deadline for application to the Main Grant Scheme is Sunday 9th February 2025.
For full details, please see the Guidelines and Application Form below.
This year's QUEX call for PhD projects is now open!
The QUEX joint PhD Program aims to recruit the very best doctoral candidates, to work across the University of Exeter and The University of Queensland (UQ).Building on a platform of active collaboration and academic exchange, we are building capacity and jointly investing in enhancing the opportunities for our researchers to work together.
We are seeking research project proposals from Exeter/ UQ researchers who can demonstrate a capacity to work collaboratively. Host supervisors should be prepared to support the candidate's needs in terms of space, computing and general resources.
Project proposals that fit within the following themes are invited:
- Healthy Living – supporting global health and wellbeing
- Global Environmental Futures – delivering research breakthroughs across diverse environmental challenges
- Digital Worlds and Disruptive Technologies – addressing challenges and opportunities related to digital change.
- Mineral Security and Sustainability - addressing global sustainability challenges in the discovery, supply and use of mineral resources
Please see full guidelines and the link to apply below. The deadline for project call applications is Monday, 3rd March 2025, 11:59am (GMT).
Other funding opportunities and links
Université Paris-Saclay make up to 150 ‘Excellence Scholarships’ available to support international internship opportunities - allowing some of their best students to have an international experience during their studies, and to develop professional and inter-cultural skills. Together with Saclay International Affairs we invite Exeter faculty to share internship offers they could make available to Saclay students - with the aims of…
- increasing the attractiveness of Saclay’s programme,
- strengthening Saclay - Exeter cooperation,
- opening new collaborative opportunities between our institutions.
The opportunities are open to Undergraduate and Masters level students – i.e. Bachelor degree: BUT2/BUT3/Licence 2/Licence 3 level; Master degree: Students of engineering school/Ecole Normale Supérieure/Master 1/Master 2 level.
These internships must start between 1st January and 1st December 2025; and run for a minimum duration of 4 weeks for undergraduate students and for a minimum of 6 weeks for postgraduate students. Please see guidance notes below for more information.
IDEX International Internship Scholarship Guidelines 2024
If you would like to submit an internship offer, please fill in this form: Internship Offers for UPSaclay IDEX Internship Applicants/Laureates (office.com)
The UUKi 'Global research and innovation funding gateway' is a regularly updated depository of funding opportunities for international research and innovation collaboration and knowledge exchange, aimed at UK based researchers/institutions.
Global research and innovation funding gateway (universitiesuk.ac.uk)
The Fulbright University of Exeter Award covers a three-to-nine month project for researching, lecturing or teaching in or across any research-active departments at the university.
The Fulbright All Disciplines Scholar Award allows academics and professionals to undertake lecturing and/or research in any discipline at any accredited US university for between three-to-twelve months.
More information can be found here and here.
For assistance with the application process, please contact:
Marie-Joelle West
M.A.West@exeter.ac.uk
The Fullbright Commission are looking to applicants who can engage with the USA in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding.
There are several Postgraduate Awards available each year. The All Disciplines Award is by far the most competitive, so it’s important to apply for an award that best fits your experience and interest.
Visit the Fullbright Commission website for further details regarding all the awards available.
The Fulbright Specialist Programme allows universities, cultural centres, non-governmental organisations, and other institutions abroad to host a leading U.S. academic or professional to work on diverse, short-term collaborative projects.
Information on eligibility and the application process for the Fulbright Specialist Programme can be found on the website.
Applications for this programme are accepted all year. The Bilateral Teaching Exchange Programme aims to strengthen the international teaching experience and exposure of Chinese University of Hong Hong (CUHK) faculty members by supporting term-time teaching opportunities at overseas universities.
Find more information here.
Through its Jean d'Alembert fellowship programme Université Paris-Saclay wants to allow highly qualified foreign scientists to stay for long periods (from 6 to 12 months) in one of the 275 laboratories of UPSaclay to conduct research, training & dissemination activities. Scientists from all disciplines and all countries are eligible. The topic and the period of the stay must be decided with the Paris-Saclay host laboratory before the application.
Eligibility:
- Junior Researchers: Candidates who have obtained their PhD less than ten years before the date of application;
- Senior Researcher: Candidates who have obtained their PhD at least ten years before the date of application.
Benefits:
- Additional monthly salary of €2,800, which will be paid by Université Paris-Saclay during the presence in the lab (employment contract)
- A maximum budget of €10,000 to cover expenses related to the beneficiary’s research activities in the host laboratory of Université Paris-Saclay
Applicants must mention in their scientific project the requested amount and the details of these expenses. Only operating expenses are eligible, personnel expenses are excluded. Duration: 6 months to 1 year For further query: The Jean d'Alembert fellowship program | Université Paris-Saclay (universite-paris-saclay.fr)
The Jean d’Alembert fellowship program Université Paris-Saclay 2024-2026 call for applications is now open, the next deadline is likely to be April 2025
The invited faculty programme offers funding to host international faculty members for 1 week to one month within UPSaclay constituent colleges, with the purpose of initiating new or reinforcing existing initiatives. Scientists from all disciplines and countries are eligible.
Successful applicants can receive up to €850 per week (for up to 4 weeks max) to cover their travel and business trip expenses.
Eligibility:
- faculty members from Paris-Saclay partner institutions invited by their Paris-Saclay fellows.
Duration:
- up to 4 weeks.
Disciplines/Nationalities:
- no restriction
Applications are made by Saclay faculty members for external (to Saclay) faculty members that they wish to invite. Exeter faculty are therefore encouraged to contact Saclay counterparts and look into the Invited Faculty Programme with their contacts at Saclay. If help needed in connecting with faculty members at Saclay, please don’t hesitate to contact Stuart Westhead (s.westhead@exeter.ac.uk).
The call for proposals occurs in two waves, for stays in the first and second semester of the academic year. Each request (submitted by a Saclay academic) must specify the details of the proposed visiting researcher; proposed duration of stay and month of arrival; brief description of the reason for the stay; host research unit inviting researcher. A brief CV of the visiting researcher should be attached to the application.
Contacts in departments to whom applications should be submitted:
UFR Droit-Économie-Gestion departement-recherche.jean-monnet@universite-paris-saclay.fr
UFR Médecine recherche-faculte.medecine@universite-paris-saclay.fr
UFR Pharmacie elias.fattal@universite-paris-saclay.fr lorraine.thirion@universite-paris-saclay.fr
UFR Sciences missionnaires-invites.sciences@universite-paris-saclay.fr
UFR Sciences du Sport michel-ange.amorim@universite-paris-saclay.fr
The Shared Scholarship scheme is a joint initiative between the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and UK universities, to support students from developing Commonwealth countries who would not otherwise be able to study a Masters programme in the UK.
Applications for the 2021/22 Commonwealth Shared Scholarships are not yet open. More information on the scheme will be available on the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission’s website (link broken) in due course. Please note that all candidates are expected to have met our English Language Requirements before applying.
Scholarships are available to students of high academic quality from certain Commonwealth countries. You must apply well in advance through the Commonwealth Scholarship Agency in the country in which you have your permanent home. Full details are available on the Commonwealth Scholarships Commission’s website [broken link].
You can also check the Funding Database to search for all available scholarships offered by the University in each department.
