6 November 2025

The fund will enable institutions in Wales to begin the development of sustainable, long-term relationships with Karnataka institutions, strengthening academic ties, supporting joint research, and facilitating knowledge exchange across borders. 

Welsh institutions can bid for funding of £4,500 per project, which can be used in a variety of ways including research scoping, supporting capacity building/training, transnational education, and workshop delivery. 

The collaboration will support the following priority areas for development:

  • Digital transformation
  • Net zero, green energy and decarbonisation
  • Agri-tech and rural economy
  • Creative industries and media
  • Population health and biotechnology
  • Materials and manufacturing (including semiconductors)

Projects focused on these areas will be prioritised for funding, but applications focused in other areas will not be ruled ineligible. 

Projects should have clearly defined objectives, activities and expected outcomes (beyond simply establishing relationships and exploring areas for future collaboration). For example, projects could support:

  • Capacity building and/or training
  • Transnational education
  • Research scoping
  • Joint teaching/delivery
  • Delivery of workshops, symposia or events

Other appropriate activities will be considered provided they are in line with the funding conditions outlined in the terms of reference document.

Eight universities from Karnataka have confirmed that they would also contribute a match fund of £4,500 to support the collaboration. The eight universities seeking collaborative projects are:

  • Bangalore University
  • Davangere University
  • Dr. B R Ambedkar School of Economics University (BASE)
  • Karnatak University Dharwad
  • Mangalore University
  • Mysore University
  • Rani Chennamma University
  • VSK University Bellary

Full details of the call can be found in the Terms of Reference.

Please return completed application forms and budget and timeline templates to Tom Woodward and Tracey Marenghi by 15 January.