Early-Career Collaboration Awards 2025-2026
Recent years have demonstrated the possibilities and value of virtual collaboration, but sometimes there is still no substitute for working together in-person. Spending time at other institutions, especially overseas, can provide invaluable access to expertise, equipment and facilities, as well as new perspectives and approaches.
The loss of this connectivity has been particularly acute for early-career researchers as they work to develop new research projects, acquire experience, and build professional networks. Connections made at the start of a researcher’s career can have a formative effect on their professional development and have the potential to generate long-term collaborations.
Running since 2023, IARU’s Early-Career Collaboration Award Scheme helps early-career academics by providing funds to meet the costs of a short-term research visit at another IARU university.
Eligibility
Current early-career researchers – those who are no longer postdoctoral researchers but who are still within 10 years of submitting their PhD – at any IARU university can apply. Any time not spent engaged in active research (i.e. because of a career break) will not count as part of the 10-year period. Awards are intended for those on permanent contracts. All applicants must be employed by a IARU university at a time the visit is planned to take place. All placements must be at another IARU university. The host university does not need to already be involved in the applicant’s research.
There is no minimum or maximum duration for a research visit, but it is expected it would be long enough for applicants to have a realistic opportunity to share information about their research at the host institution, and for the visit to contribute to further collaborative links between the institutions involved (see Application Requirements (1) below).
Funding and Eligible Expenses
Individuals can apply for up to US$5,000. This should be used to cover costs of travel, accommodation, maintenance, and other expenses related to their visit. Please note that the secretariat does not engage in any financial transactions with individual awardees. Awardees liaise with their host or home institution for disbursement of funds and internal requirements.
Visits can be planned for any time between 1 October 2025 and 1 September 2026. If the planned visit does not take place within this timeframe, the awardee will forfeit their award.
Application Requirements
Applicants should send completed applications to the IARU Secretariat (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). Incomplete applications will not be considered. To be considered, applicants are asked to provide the following:
1. A completed application form
Please download a copy of the application form and complete it.
In addition to personal information, applicants should provide a statement (750-word maximum) setting out, for a general audience:
- The area of their research and their specific research project
- Why they plan to visit their prospective host institution (e.g. additional/different expertise, equipment, facilities etc.)
- An outline of their plans to share information about their research and their placement at their host institution (e.g. via departmental seminars or other relevant research meetings)
- How they hope their visit will facilitate further collaborative links between their home institution and host institution (e.g. reciprocal exchanges, joint funding applications)
2. A letter of support from your head of department
The letter should be submitted with the application form, it should not be sent separately by the head of department. The letter should indicate support for the intended research visit and confirm that there are no foreseeable issues with the applicant being away from the department.
3. A letter of support from the head of your intended host department
Again, the letter should be submitted with the application form, it should not be sent separately. The letter should indicate that the department is happy to host the applicant and that there are no foreseeable issues.
Selection Criteria
It has been decided that the complexity of setting up an academic review process would not be proportionate to the potential additional benefits. The IARU Secretariat will therefore select successful applications at random from among all complete applications by eligible researchers. Up to 8 awards of 5,000 USD will be made for 2025-2026. It may be necessary to cap the number of successful applications in which a given university can be involved to ensure that the funded visits are spread throughout IARU's member universities. Note that preference will be given to those who were not previously granted an award.
Decision Process & Timeline
Applications must be received by 30 June 2025. Late applications cannot be accepted. Successful applicants will be informed by the 1 August 2025, and the names of awardees, with short summaries of their research projects, will be published on the IARU website.
At the end of their visit, awardees will be asked to submit a short statement explaining their research, what they accomplished (including any joint publications, for example), how they collaborated with colleagues, and how their placement has or is expected to further future collaboration.
Questions?
Please feel free to contact us at the IARU Secretariat at the University of Cape Town at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.