NTNUs Global South Initiative is announcing seed funds with the aim of building networks of early career academic staff for collaboration within research, education and innovation, with higher education and research institutions in the Global South.

The application for seed funding should include minimum one partner institution from Low and Lower Middle Income Countries¹ and aim for establishing a network of early career academic staff in minimum one of 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 (e.g. entrepreneurship and innovation) for partners in the Global South may be included. 

The aim of the project should be to establish/strengthen a national or international network of early career academic staff focused on research, education and innovation collaborations with partners in the Global South. The network may also include phd candidates and master students.

There are up to 400,000 NOK available for this call, and we will award a maximum of 100,000 NOK to each network.

Application deadline 21 October 2026, 15:00 (CET).

Who can apply?

Anyone who is employed at NTNU in a scientific position who is already involved or / interested to in building partnerships with institutions in the Global South. The person submitting the application must be the project leader for the seed funding project and should be an early career scientific staff (from 2-7 years after completion of PhD).

Timeframe: The project can start in 2026, and the funds must be used no later than December 2027.

What can you apply for?

You can apply for funds for activities that will contribute to establishing a network of early career scientific staff at NTNU and across national or international institutions for research and higher education. You must specify why such a network is needed and how will it work to build on existing and new partnerships in the Global South. Activities that may be included in the seed funding project will typically be workshops, writing retreats, seminars, study tours, inviting guests/potential collaborators. Funds cannot be applied for salary compensation (‘frikjøp’) for academic employees (in permanent or temporary positions). Salaries for research assistants (vit.ass) can be included, but this amount cannot be more than 50% of the total sum applied for. Each project can be in the range of 50,000 NOK to 100,000 NOK. There is no requirement for self-financing or additional funding from other sources.

Application requirements

The project to establish a network must contribute to realizing the goals of the Global South Initiative. 

These are: 

• Further reinforce NTNUs partnerships with institutions in LLMICs and ensure inter-disciplinary breadth and scale in such partnerships
• Actively participate in policies/ priorities for global knowledge collaborations in national and international arenas
• Make collaboration with LLMICs a priority within NTNUs strategy for internationalization
• Increase visibility of NTNUs partnerships with partners in LLMIC and foster more robust and sustainable engagement.

More details on the goals and justification for the Initiative: Rektor’s decision to establish the Initiative, Report of the Working Group on Global South partnerships 

• The network must include active participants from NTNU and minimum one partner institution from the Global South (LLMIC countries as defined above), with a plan for recruiting new members.  
• It is assumed that the Head of Department where the project leader is employed is informed about and supports the application. To confirm this, please tick the box in the application form.
• A budget for 2026-2027 showing how the funds will be used.
• A brief overview of ongoing research, innovation and educational collaboration activity relevant to NTNU Global South Initiative, for the most central NTNU employees involved in the project.
• Clearly defined role for the partner(s) from the LMIC partner institution. Applicants are encouraged to follow guidelines for equitable partnerships.
• Plan for implementation, including ethics and a brief account of efforts made to limit travel activity (cf. NTNU's travel guidelines)
• The application must be written in the attached template, within a maximum of 2 pages (font 11) + frontpage, and must be written the application in English. 

Applications that do not follow the template will not be considered.

Download english tempelate

Upload the template and fill out the online form:

Online form

Application deadline 21 October 2026, 15:00 (CET).
Decision on allocation is expected in mid December.

Questions can be directed to Elin Yli Dvergsdal, Secretariat for Global South Initiative
E-mail: elin.y.dvergsdal@ntnu.no

Evaluation criteria

• Relevance to the goals of the Global South Initiative
• Scientific, innovation or/and education originality and ambitions
• Links to other similar national and international networks
• Feasibility

Applications will be assessed by the Internal Advisory Board of the Global South Initiative. Impartiality rules will be followed. Final prioritization and allocation will be approved by Prorector Monica Rolfsen in discussion with Committee for Outreach and Social Responsibility (SAFU) based on the evaluation criteria, but the need for thematic and disciplinary variation will be taken into account.