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City background with images of global network

UTS has joined the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), a leading global higher education network connecting 24 research-intensive universities in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. WUN offers special programs for career development including networking opportunities for researchers.

Applications for the 2025 WUN Research Development Fund are now open. The deadline for submission of Letters of Intent (LOI) for collaborative projects where UTS is the lead is 2 September 2025.

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$17,500) to foster innovative, international collaborative research programs. 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 2025 WUN RDF Guidelines. 

Eligibility

The RDF is open to academic staff (faculty members) at WUN member universities.

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 WUN Research Development Fund definition of Early Career Researcher is: A researcher who is in the final year of their terminal degree program (e.g., PhD) or has completed fewer than seven years of their first appointment as a member of faculty/ academic staff. The age of the researcher has no bearing on this timeframe, and career breaks within this period do not count against the total.

If you're interested in leading a collaborative research project through the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), you’re invited to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) as a principal investigator. This role involves guiding the project’s vision and coordinating with your counterparts at other WUN member universities. To get started, please submit the internal UTS LOI form here.

You can also get involved in a WUN project as a co-investigator, by contributing your expertise to a proposal led by another researcher. If this suits you better, we recommend creating a WUN Hub researcher profile via the WUN Hub page.  This profile enables WUN colleagues with related interests to identify and connect with each other. The lead investigator will then submit the proposal as per the process at their home university.
 

2025 Focus Areas

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:

  1. Social justice and human rights; inequality 
  2. Sustainable world: cities and urbanisation; energy transitions; water and food security 
  3. Mental health; child and maternal health; ageing 
  4. Responsible and ethical applications of Artificial Intelligence

Important Information for this round 

Proposals are welcome from researchers at all career stages. However, projects that involve early career researchers are especially encouraged. Additional points will be awarded during the review process to proposals led by early career researchers (as Principal Investigators). This should be indicated in the Letter of Intent (LOI).

Please note that applications must not be continuations of, or minor variations on, previously funded RDF projects. As stated in the 2025 WUN RDF Guidelines under the ‘Academic Quality’ assessment criteria: 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 the 2025 WUN RDF Guidelines 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.

How to submit an LOI

  1. Identify collaborators from the WUN member universities list, who are interested in submitting a joint proposal.
  2. Download the LOI form PDF to view a preview of the questions. Discuss and prepare the proposal with your collaborators. 

Application process timeline

2 September 2025Deadline for submission of LOIs (Please note that an LOI is only required if your intention is to be the Principal Investigator on a project)
24 September 2025Announcement of two LOIs that will be invited to develop into full proposals
3 October 2025Draft of full proposal submitted online for faculty assessment prior to final submission to WUN
17 October 2025 (11pm AEST)Online submission of UTS applications via the WUN application portal
15 December 2025WUN announces results
February 2026Funds made available

Register for an information session: 

To find out more about WUN RDF 2025, register for one of our virtual information sessions: 

Thursday 10 July 2025 | 12 - 1 PM | Register here  
Monday 11 August 2025 | 12 - 1 PM | Register here 

Contact us

Innes Ireland 
Acting Pro-Vice Chancellor (Global Engagement) 
UTS WUN Coordinator 
Email: innes.ireland@uts.edu.au

Ana Paula Ruiz 
Manager, Global Partnerships  
Email: ana.ruiz@uts.edu.au

Kumar Jain
Engagement Manager, Global Partnerships
Email: kumar.jain@uts.edu.au

Devika Gadgil
Global Partnerships Officer, Global Partnerships
Email: devika.gadgil@uts.edu.au

WUN Member Universities

View the list of WUN member universities (WUN website) or below:

Australia 

Griffith University 

University of Queensland

University of Technology Sydney 

Brazil

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Canada

University of Alberta

Germany

Ruhr University Bochum

Ghana

University of Ghana

Greater China

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

National Cheng Kung University

Japan

University of Tsukuba

Mexico

Tecnológico de Monterrey 

New Zealand

The University of Auckland

South Africa

University of Cape Town

University of Pretoria

Switzerland

University of Lausanne

Thailand

Mahidol University

The Netherlands

Maastricht University

Uganda

Makerere University

UK

University of Bristol 

University of Exeter 

University of Leeds 

University of Sheffield 

University of York  

USA

University of Rochester

 

 

Downloads

2025 WUN-RDF-Guidelines.pdfPDF, 70.29 KB

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Boorooberongal People of the Dharug Nation upon whose ancestral lands our campuses now stand. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. 

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15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007

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