NTNU's strategic Global South Initiative will fund new research projects that contribute to further developing robust and sustainable, equitable and mutually beneficial partnerships with partners in Low- and Lower Middle-Income Countries in the identified thematic areas of the Global South Initiative:

• Just climate transition and renewable energy​
• Global Health – Public Health and Health System strengthening​
• Global development and social justice​
• Biodiversity and environmental sciences​
  
  

In addition, cross-cutting fields of interest for partners in the Global South may be included.

Application deadline: 6th November 15:00 (CET) 

Who can apply?

Permanent academic staff at NTNU having existing partnerships with partners in the Global South, or those wishing to initiate partnerships can apply. The application should include one project leader, deputy leader, and clearly identify the main supervisor for the PhD candidate. It is encouraged that the projects include both experienced and early career academic staff.

Groups at NTNU that collaborate with our current strategic partner from the Global South, i.e. Kathmandu University, are especially encouraged to apply.

What can you apply for?

Each successful project will receive funding for one 3-year PhD position, operational costs for the Phd researchers and an additional funding for developing applications for external funding (see below). In total, 8 PhD positions will be awarded, with a planned start latest by Autumn 2027. The project timeline can extend from 36 months to 48 months. Starting earliest from 1^st February 2027, with latest start date 1^st July 2027.

The positions include operational costs at standard faculty level. There are variations between what different faculties, and in some cases departments, provide in operational costs. We encourage applicants to contact their faculty/department to clarify the amount before setting up a budget. The need for additional salary and operational costs, in addition to those above, must be covered by the department/faculty involved or through other funding. The candidates will be employed by the project leader or deputy leader department, and the departments will be responsible for the recruitment process. The project have to follow doctoral education regulations at NTNU.

We encourage the departments to recruit candidates from the Global South and minority groups.

The projects that are awarded grants will be awarded 100,000 NOK additional funding earmarked to develop applications for external research funding within the project's theme. These funds can cover travel costs to meet global south research partners or to invite external partners to NTNU, costs related to workshops to develop applications etc. These funds cannot be used for salary compensation for scientific staff (‘frikjøp’).

Application requirements

In this call, we are aiming for projects that address important knowledge gaps related to the theme that the Global South Initative focus on, as well as efforts to make our partnerships more equitable and sustainable. It is crucial that the application demonstrates how the project will contribute to achieving the goals defined for the Global South Initiative.

The project must represent a new approach to the research questions the research project seeks to explore. Applicants must describe how the PhD position is part of larger research and innovation activities, if that is relevant. The project must have at least one identified institutional partner in the Global South. This must be documented through a letter of intent from the relevant researchers institution.

We encourage new collaborations with the public sector, NGOs, and/or private actors in Global South.

The application must contain an overall description of how the project leader and deputy leader together can create framework that can contribute to achieving the project's overall goals and research questions. How this is solved and organized must be clearly described in the implementation section of the application. Any collaboration with other ongoing projects and coordination of this should be described. The project's implementation potential within the given timeframe and available resources will be emphasized.

The application must be written in the template that can be downloaded here:

Download English Tempelate

Applications that do not follow the template will not be evaluated

The application must not exceed 5 pages + cover page (Times New Roman, 11 points, 2 cm margins) and must be written in English . The template contains all points that will be assessed; it is therefore important that the order is not changed. The application must consist of the following parts:

Research gaps, knowledge needs, goals and relevance to the call

• Research questions, hypotheses, methodology and approach
• Impact in terms of how the project will contribute to building equitable and sustainable partnerships with institutions in the Global South.
• Implementation
• Budget
• References

• Uploads in application form:
  • Project description (use template)
  • CVs of project leader and deputy leader (max 4 page pr.person)
  • Letter of Intent from partner in Global South (can be an e-mail)

The application must describe all necessary resources to ensure the successful implementation of the project. The budget must be set up using the table in the template. Operational costs, including travel and use of laboratories and infrastructure, must be specified. It must be stated what expenditure items are related to the specific PhD positions (as mentioned above, operational costs are allocated at standard faculty/department level) and what will be covered by the 100,000 NOK earmarked for the preparation of applications for external funding. If there are other funding sources contributing to the project, these must also be specified.

The project description must be uploaded as a pdf in our online form by 6th November 15:00 (CET). CVs (max 4 pages per person) for leader and deputy leader and letter of intent from Global South partner must be uploaded as separate pdfs at the bottom of this form:

Upload your application here

Evaluation

Applications will first be sorted and assessed by the NTNU Global South Initiatives, internal advisory group based on overall quality and strategic relevance. Applications that are prioritised in the internal assessment will then be assessed by external generalists based on relevance, research quality, potential impact, and implementation according to the criteria described below. Final allocation will be based on the results of the external evaluation, but the need for a varied thematic and disciplinary composition will also be emphasized in the final assessment.

The final decision on awarded projects will be approved by Prorector Monica Rolfsen based on a discussion in Committee for Outreach and Social Responsibility (SAFU).

We expect a decision on awarded projects by end of January 2027. The deadline for filling the positions will be at latest November 2027. 

Contact

Elin Yli Dvergsdal, Secretariat for Global South Initiative,
e-mail: elin.y.dvergsdal@ntnu.no

Evaluation criteria

Applications that don’t follow the template will not be considered.

Relevance

• Relevance for NTNU Global South Initiative
• To what extent will the project contribute to strengthening NTNU’s partnerships with institutions in the Global South
• How is the project anchored in the participating research communities?

Research quality (excellence)

• How original, new and ambitious is the project?
• How good is the quality of the research questions and project objectives?
• To what extent are the approach, choice of methods and planned implementation credible and suitable for achieving the project objectives?
• To what extent have risk, uncertainty and ethical issues been addressed?

Potential impact

• To what extent is the project totally suitable for exploring important scientific and societal challenges?
• How will the project contribute to the aims of the Global South Initiative, and how good are the plans for communicating the project results and, if relevant, translating the results into changed practice?
  

Implementation

• To what extent do the project participants have the competence, experience and ability to implement the project with high quality?
• Is the implementation of the project realistic within the given resources and timeframe?
• Is there a clear role for the identified partner in Global South?