The University of Illinois System and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) have established a joint seed research grants program for one year, starting with the academic year 2022-23.

This program will fund projects in three thematic areas: Food and Health; Water; Energy. The overarching goal is to contribute towards solving problems related to Poverty, the Environment, and Sustainable well-being. Transdisciplinary approaches will be particularly welcome.

This Request for Proposals is soliciting proposals for funding under this joint program. Only joint proposals with at least one principal investigator from each university will be eligible to apply for funding under this program. Only tenure-track faculty can serve as principal investigators.

All proposals will be evaluated by a joint review committee of faculty and scientists appointed by the President of the University of Illinois System and the Rector of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México or their designees. Decisions of the joint review committee will be final. Both universities will have an equal number of members on this committee. Evaluation criteria will include:

- technical quality,
- relevance of the topic,
- degree of collaboration and interaction,
- evidence of prior collaborative work,
- graduate and/or undergraduate student participation.

Each institution is investing $100,000 dollars in this collaborative research program for one year. The seed funds are not transferable between institutions. Each university will fund only its principal investigators participating in the joint proposals selected by the joint review committee. A proposal can have a budget request of no more than $40,000 dollars jointly, resulting in 5 joint awards annually. The cap of $20,000 dollars awarded by each institution for each selected project must be used not later than December 31, 2023.

The submissions should conform to the outline attached, including a timeline for the completion of various tasks related to the project. Applications will have a limit of four (4) pages, excluding the title page, references, and appendices.

Proposals should be submitted by December 15, 2022 in English and Spanish as a single PDF document, to the e-mail ui-mexico@uillinois.edu and complete the webtools form https://go.illinois.edu/UNAM-UI. The Illinois Mexican & Mexican-American Students Initiative (I-MMAS) and the Coordinación de la Investigación Científica of UNAM will jointly manage the entire request for proposal process.

Results will be available by January 31, 2023. Funds will be available by February 2023.

This project supports Undergraduate Students from UIUC, Purdue, North Carolina A&T, Florida A&M, Tuskegee, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa to participate in a six-week program at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines to learn about the basics of rice research and production and gain an appreciation for the challenges and rewards of international collaboration.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens enrolled at the university during the academic year after participating in PSGFS. While we are primarily targeting current sophomores and juniors (i.e. rising juniors and seniors), outstanding current freshmen will be considered. Successful applicants will have an interest in global engagement and plant science research. Under-represented minorities are especially encouraged to apply.

This program is in its second year. Read about ACES students' previous experiences in this program.