Worldwide Universities Network
UTS has joined the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), a leading global higher education network connecting 25 research-intensive universities in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. WUN offers special programs for career development including networking opportunities for researchers.
Applications now open for the WUN Research Development Fund.
Deadline for internal submission of Letters of Intent (LOIs): 8 September 2023.
Please note all the links on this page take you to external sites.
Opportunities for academics
WUN Research Development Fund
The Worldwide Universities Network Research Development Fund (WUN RDF) is an annual competitive fund that aims to bring together researchers from WUN member universities to undertake innovative, high quality, sustainable research that addresses global challenges.
WUN RDF Funding
The WUN RDF offers grants of up to £10,000 (A$19,000) to foster innovative, international collaborative research programs. Matching cash contributions are encouraged but not required and will not factor in the review. UTS will contribute up to A$5,000 towards each successful UTS application, where necessary and justifiable.
For information on what expenditure categories WUN RDF funds support, please refer to ‘Annex: Permitted Uses of RDF Funds’ in the 2023 WUN RDF Guidelines (PDF, 753kB).
Participation and project alignment
UTS academics may participate in these projects as Principal Investigators or Co-Investigators. Each WUN member university may submit a maximum of two applications with its researchers as Principal Investigators.
There is no limit to the number of applications that can be submitted by other WUN member universities, which include UTS researchers as Co-Investigators.
Each project must engage at least three WUN member universities, including UTS, in at least two regions. WUN regions are defined as Latin America, North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The collaboration can include non-WUN universities and other external partners, but must have an active core of WUN member universities. Projects led by early career researchers are especially encouraged.
The RDF 2023 supports research projects directed at several focus areas (detailed in the guidelines) that lie within the network’s principal research theme of sustainable development, and on which a diverse team of collaborating partners confers distinct advantage. These will often be problems where comparative analysis is important.
In line with the WUN Strategic Plan 2023-2026, the WUN RDF encourages proposals that address problems in one or more of the following areas within the context of sustainable development:
- Social justice and human rights; inequality
- Sustainable world: cities and urbanisation; energy transitions; water, and food security
- Mental health; child and maternal health; ageing
- Responsible and ethical applications of Artificial Intelligence
Important Information for this round
Early Career Researchers. Proposals are welcome from researchers across all career stages. Projects whose teams include (or are led by) early career researchers, are especially encouraged. Projects led by early career researchers (principal investigators) will be given extra points during the review. On the application form, we ask applicants to indicate if their university considers them an early career researcher.
Previously funded projects. It is a requirement that applications are not an extension of, or minor variations on, previous RDF funded projects. This is contained in the 2023 WUN RDF Guidelines Assessment Criteria ‘How applications are assessed: Academic Quality’ section as follows: – Is the project academically rigorous, and does it address a new research problem or take an existing WUN research program in a significantly new direction?
To learn about the assessment criteria, categories of expenditure and reporting, please read the 2023 WUN RDF Guidelines (PDF, 753kB) carefully.
UTS Call for Letters of Intent
The Letter of Intent (LOI) is an informal one-page overview of your proposed research idea. It is an internal process at UTS prior to submitting two applications via the WUN platform. Two LOIs will be selected at UTS to be developed into full proposals.
The LOI should address:
- Project summary
- Assessment criteria
- List of co-investigators and their corresponding universities
- Funding requested
- Categories of expenditure you are planning to use funding for
Please note that you should only submit an LOI if your intention is that UTS will be the lead institution on your project.
Download the 2023 WUN RDF Guide - UTS Call for Letters of Intent (PDF, 154kB)
Application process timeline
8 September 2023 | Deadline for submission of LOIs to the UTS WUN Coordinator, Mr. Innes Ireland: innes.ireland@uts.edu.au (Please note that an LOI is only required if your intention is to be the Principal Investigator on a project) |
18 September 2023 | Announcement of two LOIs that will be invited to develop into full proposals |
9 October 2023 | Draft of full proposal submitted online for faculty assessment prior to final submission to WUN |
20 October 2023 (5pm GMT) | Online submission of UTS applications via the WUN application portal |
15 December 2023 | WUN announces results |
February 2024 | Funds made available |
Information sessions
Join a virtual information session to learn more about the WUN Research Development Fund.
WUN RDF info session (option 1)
Monday 7 August 2023
12 - 1 pm (AEST)
Join session
WUN RDF info session (option 2)
Friday 11 August 2023
12 - 1 pm (AEST)
join session
Contact us
Mr. Innes Ireland
Deputy Director, Global Engagement
UTS WUN Coordinator
Email: innes.ireland@uts.edu.au
Mrs. Ana Paula Ruiz
Manager, Global Partnerships
Email: ana.ruiz@uts.edu.au
Get involved in the WUN Global Challenges
Under an overarching research priority of sustainable development, the WUN currently organises its research activities into four Global Challenges:
Public Health
Responding to Climate Change
Understanding Cultures
Global Higher Education and Research
Special Interest Group:
Access to WUN Hub
The WUN Hub is a database that enables researchers at WUN member universities to find and connect with WUN colleagues and WUN-supported research projects.
The Hub:
- is a good way to find colleagues around the world with aligned research interests and WUN research projects of interest
- can be used to post and/or view calls for research collaborators, and view calls for (external) funding opportunities
- allows researchers to create a WUN Hub researcher profile, which takes around three minutes.
Join WUN Hub
Virtual events for early career researchers
A series of virtual ‘SDG-themed’ workshops bringing together early career researchers interested in establishing connections with colleagues in the field.A working group has been convened to identify the major problems facing early career researchers and provide recommendations on how they might best be overcome.
Visit the WUN Special Program for Early Career Researchers page for further information.
WUN Member Universities
View the list of WUN member universities (WUN website) or below:
Australia
University of Technology Sydney
Brazil
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Canada
University of Alberta
Ghana
University of Ghana
Germany
Ruhr University Bochum
Greater China
CUHK
National Cheng Kung University
Renmin University of China
Ireland
University College Dublin
Mexico
Tecnológico de Monterrey
New Zealand
The University of Auckland
Norway
University of Bergen
South Africa
University of Cape Town
University of Pretoria
Switzerland
University of Lausanne
Thailand
Mahidol University
The Netherlands
Maastricht University
Uganda
Makerere University
UK
The University of Sheffield
University of Bristol
University of Leeds
University of Southampton
University of York
USA
University of Rochester
For more information about opportunities through the WUN, please visit the WUN website or contact:
Ana Paula Ruiz
Manager, Strategic Partnerships
Email: ana.ruiz@uts.edu.au
Tel: +61 2 9514 7814