Seed Fund Research Call for Proposals 2025-2026
Background and purpose
Much like governments, industries, and the financial sector, educational institutions are increasingly called upon to address their role in advancing sustainable practices, particularly within the context of regional and institutional sustainability efforts.[1] Maastricht University (UM) recognizes this pressing need and is positioned to lead this change, using scientific research to deliver innovative solutions for a sustainable future. For this transformative change, UM has recently launched Sustainability Roadmap 2030, a strategic plan that provides guidance on how UM will structurally embed sustainability into all its activities (education, research and operations) in the coming years.
Our sustainability ambitions can be achieved if they are supported by researchers across all UM faculties engaging with issues broadly related to sustainability, with a focus on core themes of climate, circularity and community. The diverse topics can range from sustainable catering, mobility, real estate, energy solutions, to material flow analysis, campus procurement, among others. By translating theoretical knowledge and proof-of-concepts into practical applications, the valorisation of this research will drive UM toward a sustainable future.
Call for Proposals
UM aspires to serve as a ‘living lab’ that modes and advances sustainable practices within operational aspects.[2] To bring sustainability research at UM to next level and fostering this transition to a sustainable UM, we invite UM researchers to submit applications for seed fund projects aimed at fostering interdisciplinary and cross-faculty research collaboration, with a focus on advancing sustainable practices to achieve climate-neutral or circular UM operations while improving community well-being.
The research stemming from these projects will be:
- challenge driven, addressing the sustainability challenges across UM operations
- interdisciplinary, bridging disciplinary boundaries and involve researchers from at least two UM faculties
- collaborative, creating ties with external stakeholders within the region
- impactful, exploring possibilities to contribute to bachelor, master and PhD programmes of UM
- visible and relevant, addressing the needs of research, education, business development, policymaking and the wider society
Interested in applying?
For more information on how to write your proposal or on the evaluation criteria, please download the following document.
Sustainable UM Research Call 2025-26.docx
Submission of applications
Proposals can be submitted using the application form in the appendix to sustainability@maastrichtuniversity.nl and should not exceed a maximum of five pages. The submission deadline is 27 October 2025.
More information
For additional information, please contact Ahmed Hussain, SUM2030 Sustainability Research Coordinator via ahmed.hussain@maastrichtuniversity.nl