You can now apply for the University of Oulu International Strategic Partnership Development Funding for 2026.

This funding aims to strengthen the university’s global engagement, encourage and catalyse high-quality, strategic education and research collaborations with international partners.

We now invite proposals that focus on building new, sustainable links with our preferred partner institutions, as listed below, in Canada, India, Japan, South Africa and South Korea. Applications with other institutions may also be considered.

Maximum funding available is up to 10,000 Euros per application and must be used by 31.12.2026.

Funding may be used to support activities that lead to long-term, sustainable partnerships, such as:

• Collaborative two-way visits aiming at developing new and/or deepening collaboration
• Preparation of joint projects and research plans
• Preparation of joint external competitive funding applications and publications in high-quality outlets
• Planning and organising joint seminars, workshops or conferences
• Hosting a high profile professor
• Identifying or testing new ways of collaboration that bring added value to the partnership

Preferred partners

Canada:

• McMaster University
• Simon Fraser University
• University of British Columbia
• University of Alberta
• University of Waterloo

India: 

• Amity University (Noida)
• Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
• Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
• Indian Institute of Technology Madras
• Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

Japan: 

• Hokkaido University
• Kyoto University
• Kyushu University
• Nagoya University
• Tohoku University
• University of Tokyo

South Korea:

• Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI)
• Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
• Kuyng Hee University
• Seoul National University
• Yonsei University

South Africa: 

• Stellenbosch University
• University of Cape Town
• University of Johannesburg
• University of Pretoria

Application process

Please note that the principal applicant must have a contract of employment with the University of Oulu for the full duration of the project. The principal applicant should be at a career level of a professor, docent, university researcher, senior research fellow, university lecturer or postdoctoral researcher.

The deadline for applications is 30 November at 23:59pm.

Please submit your application via this Webropol link: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/S/2D745985E9EBB0C8

You can see the form questions in this .PDF file.

Results will be announced in January 2026.

Eligibility of costs 

All funded activities must be directly related to the development and delivery of the agreed proposal. Please note, that projects currently in receipt of other University of Oulu internal funding for collaboration with the partner(s) listed above, will not be supported.

The following costs are not eligible:

• Staff time or salaries
• Conference, consultancy or publication fees
• Direct research costs, such as purchase of equipment, consumables, materials or analysis services
• Transfer of funds to partners is not allowed

Evaluation criteria 

We expect successful proposals to:

• Be innovative and of high academic quality
• Have a clear and reasonable plan of activities and concrete outputs for the timeframe of the project (e.g. publications, funding applications etc.)
• Have a team based approach and utilise the advantage created by complementary expertise between partners
• Offer value for money

In addition we value proposals that:

• Address (at least one of) the global challenges identified in the university strategy
• Offer opportunities for an interdisciplinary approach 

Please note that applicants are responsible for making contact and agreeing on the proposal with their partner(s) ahead of submitting an application.

Final reports

All successful applicants will be required to report on project outcomes.

Questions?

Please contact us at international.affairs@oulu.fi for help and support.