Seed Fund

Each year, the Unite! Seed Fund issues one call for funding initiatives in Teaching & Learning and Research & PhD, along with bi-annual calls for Student Activities funding. The current application period: from 20 January to 20 March

The funding is open to all subjects and topics and aims to cater to in-person, hybrid, and purely digital formats.

Who can Apply?

Student activities

• Objective: Start long-term collaborations between student associations and other student-centred organisations across the Unite! universities.

• Available budget: Up to €20,000 per project, involving at least 2 Unite! universities.

• What is new? Only student associations and other student-centred organisations at the Unite! universities will be eligible to apply. Applications from individual students will not be accepted. That means that your student body’s eligibility must be confirmed by the Student Liaison Officers – Honorata Poturaj

• Deadline: The deadline for contacting the Unite! Student Liaison Officer at each participating university is 8 March 2026. The deadline for submitting the full application is 20 March 2026.

• Announcement of results: Early June 2026

• Funding period for this call: October 2026 – December 2027
• Check application requirements and all details here

Teaching & Learning

• Objective: Support the creation of joint/collaborative educational offers with ECTS, with the potential for being scaled up into Joint Programmes. Applications must involve at least 3 Unite! universities and address at least one of the Unite! focus areas: Sustainable Energy; Artificial Intelligence; Industry 4.0; Entrepreneurship; Engineering Biology (and Biotechnology); Space; Cybersecurity; and Sustainable Cities & Water.

• Available budget: Between €10,000 and €80,000 per project, depending on the project goals and the number of Unite! partners involved.

• How to find partners? A virtual matchmaking event will be held on 5 February, aimed at connecting potential collaboration partners from the Unite! universities. Participation is recommended but not mandatory (see the info box below for more details).

• What is new? Applications aiming at the creation of joint teaching offers must include letters of commitment from all departments/schools involved, confirming that the project outcomes are to be devised as long-term educational offers fully integrated in local curricula.

• Deadline: The deadline for submitting the full application is 20 March 2026.
• Check application requirements and all details here

Research & PhD

• Objective: Start new research collaborations and/or PhD offers between at least 3 Unite! universities and support joint applications for larger third-party funding. Applications must address at least one of the Unite! focus areas: Sustainable Energy; Artificial Intelligence; Industry 4.0; Entrepreneurship; Engineering Biology (and Biotechnology); Space; Cybersecurity; and Sustainable Cities & Water.

• Available budget: Between €10,000 and €80,000 per project, depending on the project goals and the number of Unite! partners involved.

• How to find partners? A virtual matchmaking event will be held on 6 February, aimed at connecting potential collaboration partners from the Unite! universities. Participation is recommended but not mandatory (see the info box below for more details).

• What is new? For the programme option “Exploring” (with a budget of €10,000 per project), applications from Early Career Researchers will be preferred.

• Deadline: The deadline for submitting the full application is 20 March 2026. 
• Check application requirements and all details here

What are the necessary supporting documents:

Funding Line: Student Activity

• Letter of support issued by  a faculty or another unit of the university.
• The intention to submit an application should be reported to the Student Liaison Officer, Honorata Poturaj, whose role also includes providing all possible support to applicants.

Funding Line: Teaching and Learning & Research and PhD

• Letter of support issued by the dean of studies of the participating departments of the universities.
• Please contact Contact Person: Anną Hejno.

Funding Line: Reaserch&PhD

• Letter of support issued by the dean of studies of the participating departments of the universities.
• Please contact Contact Person: Anną Hejno.

How do I know my application has been received?

In the days after your submission, you will receive an email from seedfund@unite-university.eu, confirming the receipt of your application.
In case you do not receive this confirmation, please contact Anną Hejno and ask for clarification.
Please make sure to send us the application documents in the format provided on this website (PDF, xlsx). Other formats – as well as encryptions – may cause your email to be rejected by our email server.

Additional Information:

• Individuals planning to submit an application are required to submit a signed internal document, i.e., the Individual Project Application (Annex No. 1a to ZW 2/2023), to the Project Department before the planned submission date of the application documentation.

  Download the Individual Project Application

  Student projects must be submitted to the Student Liaison Officer (SLO): Honorata Poturaj.

  Upon completion and implementation of the project, applicants are strictly required to submit a final report with photographic documentation. The final report must be delivered to the International Relations Center office. The IRC will forward the document to the Project Department at PWr, which will serve as the basis for the proper settlement and closure of the Seed Fund initiative.

  Download the Final Report

• For Student Activity proposals, please contact your university’s Unite! Student Liason Officer Officer (SLO) Honorata Poturaj for application form guidance on how to clearly present your ideas and follow proper regulations
• For inquiries, interested candidates can email Konrad Löbcke or Dr. Anshika Suri at: seedfund@unite-university.eu.

Find more about successful Unite! Seed Fund projects