The International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP) Vietnam program aims to increase internationalization and partnerships between U.S. and Vietnamese institutions through innovative, strategic and sustainable partnerships. Thanks to generous sponsorship and collaboration from the U.S. Embassy Vietnam, IAPP Vietnam is dedicated to developing new partnerships and deepening existing ones between U.S. and Vietnamese institutions of higher education.

To advance this mission, IIE invites seed grant proposals from IAPP participating institutions focused on U.S. – Vietnamese joint national priority areas: Healthcare, Agriculture/Food Security, STEM, and Language Acquisition.

Project Proposal Guidelines

IIE invites project proposals for IAPP Vietnam seed grants in the amount of up to $15,000 with a deadline of August 1, 2025.

A competitive joint project proposal should:

• Include one U.S. and one Vietnamese institution.
• Align with one of the main priority areas listed above.
• Provide a detailed budget. Cost-sharing is encouraged and will be prioritized at selection. The applicants are also encouraged to include indirect costs of up to 15% or to cost-share their indirect costs.
• Include an adequate timeline for project implementation within six months.

The seed grant proposal should be submitted by the U.S. institution. Only one proposal on behalf of the proposed partnership is necessary. This seed grant competition is only open to participating IAPP institutions. IIE will enter into a fixed amount subaward agreement with the U.S. partner if selected.

Submit by August 1 to Cori Crisfield at ccrisfield@iie.org. In email, use subject: “IAPP Vietnam Project Proposal Form – ‘Institution name 1’, ‘Institution name 2’.

Eligible Institutions

The UNIQ (Universities: National Taiwan University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Kyushu University) Trilateral Alliance between Kyushu University (Kyushu), National Taiwan University (NTU), and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois), established in 2024, represents a unique collaboration among three globally renowned institutions.

The alliance builds on strong bilateral relationships to create a dynamic platform for addressing pressing global challenges through interdisciplinary research and education. By fostering academic exchange and leveraging the collective strengths of the partner universities, the alliance aims to drive impactful innovations and nurture sustainable partnerships.

Seed Fund

Together, all three institutions have established the UNIQ Seed Fund to facilitate the development of innovative joint research and educational programs, encourage the sharing of expertise, and promote cross-institutional collaboration. 

The University of Birmingham and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign formed the BiRmingham-Illinois Partnership for Discovery, EnGagement and Education (BRIDGE) creating a framework for continued collaboration and investment to grow the strategic partnership between the two institutions.

The BRIDGE framework aims to deepen these existing collaborations and develop wider faculty networks to build cognate research areas, expand educational exchange opportunities, and strengthen strategic aspirations for institutional engagement. Engagement currently spans over 80 established faculty-to-faculty links in key academic disciplines.

Seed Fund

Together, the institutions have established the BRIDGE Seed Fund to which permanent full-time faculty member at each institution are encouraged to apply. Applications can be submitted through the BRIDGE partnership website.

The Global South Fellowship Program supports the professional development of early-career researchers from universities in the Global South.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign joined Universitas 21 (U21), a global university network, in October 2024 as the fifth North American institution represented in the network and the first from the Midwest region. As a member university, Illinois students, faculty, and staff will have access to several unique initiatives and programs with esteemed peer institutions from multiple corners of the world.

Mid-Career Researcher Programme: Reset, Re-imagine, Reframe

The program convenes mid-career researchers from across U21’s global membership to share knowledge, perspectives, and ideas, blending engaging asynchronous content and high-touch synchronous sessions. Participants are nominated by member universities.

Global Leadership Program

The Global Leadership Program reflects real dynamic challenges faced by U21 universities and explores the leadership required to meet those challenges. The 4-week online program connects peers around the world through discussion. Participants are nominated by member universities.

Early Career Researcher Workshop

The Early Career Researcher workshop enhances international networking and encourages the development of interdisciplinary collaborative research on an aspect of a UN Sustainable Development Goal for those in the early stages of their career. Participants are nominated by member universities.

The Staff Global Exchange Program provides professional development opportunities to enhance global competencies and institutional capacities in alignment with the priorities of the university’s Vision 2030 Global Strategy. The program is achieved through staff exchanges between the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a partner institution abroad. The exchange model provides mutually beneficial opportunities to share best practices and expertise, and in turn gain a more global perspective on various university services. This grant is funded by the Office of the Provost and administratively supported by Illinois International.

Current Partner Locations

• Japan
• Mexico
• Taiwan
• South Africa
• South Korea
• United Kingdom
• Additional options may be explored through the U21 Partner Network.