Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce the call for proposals for the AY2023-2024 BRIDGE Seed Fund in collaboration with the University of Birmingham. I invite you to submit applications for funding and share this announcement widely with colleagues in your respective units.
Proposals in the Social Sciences and Humanities are particularly encouraged, as are proposals that have identified funding for sustaining the collaboration beyond BRIDGE Funding. In alignment with the university’s Vision 2030: Illinois’ Global Strategy, special consideration will be given to proposals showing the intention of leveraging collaboration opportunities with partners from the Global South region in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Background
In March 2014 the University of Birmingham (UoB) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) formed the BiRmingham-llinois Partnership for Discovery, EnGagement and Education (BRIDGE) creating a framework for continued collaboration and investment to grow the existing strategic partnership between the two institutions.
The BRIDGE partnership recognises the breadth and depth of faculty connections that have flourished over the last nine years. Engagement currently spans over 80 established faculty-to-faculty links in multiple academic disciplines.
The BRIDGE framework aims to deepen these existing collaborations and develop wider faculty networks to build cognate research areas, expand educational exchange opportunities, and strengthen strategic aspirations for institutional engagement. To this end, the institutions have established a joint BRIDGE Project Seed Fund to which permanent staff at each institution are encouraged to apply.
Detailed guidelines and the application link can be found online at https://go.illinois.edu/BRIDGE. The application deadline is Sunday, March 20, 2023.
If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Illinois International’s Director for Global Relations, Dr. Sammer Jones, at salehjo1@illinois.edu.
Sincerely,
Dr. Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela
Vice Provost for International Affairs and Global Strategies
Professor: Education Policy, Organization and Leadership
