Funding Opportunities
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Open Funding Calls
Students for Sustainability funding scheme
We all have a critical role to play in making the world more sustainable at local, national and global scales. Through the Students for Sustainability scheme, UCD and the UCD Students’ Union seek to support students and student societies in undertaking impactful projects to address pressing sustainability challenges. This partnership emphasises the importance of student leadership and engagement. The call will fund innovative projects that drive sustainability, environmental and climate impacts both on campus and beyond, with strong ties to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Funding of up to €1000 is available and the deadline is Wednesday 5 February 2025. If you have any questions, please contact (opens in a new window)vpsustainability@ucd.ie.
Sustainability Spark Scheme
UCD Sustainability's Sustainability Spark Scheme provides small awards to UCD staff for activities that stimulate external engagement or collaboration with academic or non-academic partners for new sustainability research projects and initiatives aligned to UCD’s sustainability mission, vision and objectives.
Multiple awards of up to either €650 or €850 will be made through a rolling call, to which applications can be submitted at any time. The scheme provides small awards throughout the year, with rapid decisions to accommodate opportunities as they arise. We aim to communicate a decision on applications within two weeks.
If you have any questions, please email (opens in a new window)vpsustainability@ucd.ie.
Closed Funding Calls
Two UCD Sustainability Seed Funding schemes were launched in March 2024 to support interdisciplinary collaboration to address sustainability challenges and to seed new sustainability initiatives.
Sustainability Research Seed Funding Scheme for research, innovation and impact
The Sustainability Research Seed Funding scheme aims to stimulate and support interdisciplinary sustainability research, innovation and impact by UCD researchers and their colleagues, collaborators and stakeholders. It offers practical ‘seed’ support for projects that are ambitious and strategic, as well as those that lead to new knowledge, clusters and capabilities.
Seed Funding for Sustainability Initiatives
The Seed Funding for Sustainability Initiatives scheme seeks to bring the university community together to unlock the campus’ potential as a living lab for sustainability solutions. The scheme will support sustainability projects, ideas and initiatives that are innovative, replicable and scalable, and which arise from any part of the university community.
The first cohort of projects and initiatives was launched in September 2024. There will be a second call under the Sustainability Initiatives scheme, but not under the Sustainability Research scheme. Additional schemes will be announced in due course.
These seed funding schemes are supported by Performance Funding from the Higher Education Authority (HEA).