International Partnership Development Fund (IPDF)

The IPDF is not currently open for applications. Please check back here for updates in the next few months and keep your eye on the internal staff news for any announcements.

Our international strategy, Global Glasgow 2025, reaffirms our institutional commitment to global connectedness and collaboration. University of Glasgow staff can apply for funding for international activities that align with the priorities of the strategy via the International Partnership Development Fund (IPDF). Note that any application needs 50% match funding support.

The IPDF is to support the initial development of international partnerships.

Who is it for: The IPDF is for University of Glasgow staff. It is not suitable for PhD students.

What is it for: Please refer to the types of activities and examples of projects below. The IPDF should be used in the initial phase of the establishment of a partnership and so activities are usually short term (ie normally between 3 to 21 days). It is not designed as an alternative source of funding for direct research activity.

The most successful applicants discuss ideas in advance so that their aims align with the School/College and/or with the region. We encourage you to contact the relevant Dean for Global Engagement, as well as your local internationalisation contacts (see below) whilst drafting the application.

Funding: Up to a maximum of £5000 with 50% match funding support from your school or college, please refer below for details on the approval process.  The maximum amount is £10,000 but this must include the match funding. Applications should show in detail how the funding will be allocated.

The IPDF is in year funding and so you will need to arrange and carry out the activity set out in your application ideally before the end of July.

Priority will be given to IPDF applications that:

  • clearly demonstrate the potential benefits of proposed activity in relation to the priorities set out in our International Strategy: Global Glasgow 2025,
  • are developing articulation pathways,
  • use the international travel to explore multiple strands of activity (whether this is visiting several partners in a region or exploring more than one topic, e.g. following your own international partnerships aims and also arranging meetings or promotion on behalf of your school or college),
  • build on work with existing partners or develop a new relationship of strategic importance to the School or College,
  • offer opportunities for members of staff, schools and regions that have not yet accessed the IPDF.

Note that the IPDF will not fund an individual’s direct research activity, but it can be used for staff to address the University's international Global Research priorities, e.g. preparatory meetings with international research partners to develop external grant applications.

2024/25 funding round dates

1. Opened 1 August 2024, closed 19 September 

The IPDF is not currently open for applications. Please check back here for updates in the next few months and keep your eye on the internal staff news for any announcements

Notes

The IPDF is for University of Glasgow staff. It is not suitable for PhD students.

All successful applicants must complete a progress report and if requested, provide further progress updates against long-term objectives.

No new IPDF applications will be considered until previous progress reports are completed.

Contact

Alison Coe
Internationalisation Officer
alison.coe@glasgow.ac.uk 

The Deans for Global Engagement may also be able to help with any regional questions.

Application process and match funding / support (School/College or Service)

The IPDF is not currently open for applications. Please check back here for updates in the next few months and keep your eye on the internal staff news for any announcements.

1. Download and complete the IPDF application form

Any application will need to include specific and measurable success metrics and objectives and be aligned to the priorities of the our international strategy, Global Glasgow 2025. 

2024/2025: IPDF application form

2.  Evidence of support for your application

We strongly advise that you contact your college contacts as you are drafting your application for advice so that they are aware of your application. Any application submitted by the deadline must include evidence of match funding and School/College or Service support.

2.1 Match funding

You must provide evidence of School/College financial support (e.g. email from Head of College/College Secretary and/or College Head of Finance). If you are applying from a service you will need to show evidence of match funding and support this can be from your section or your head of service.

2.2 Support

Services: support from your line manager and your head of service.

Arts and Humanities: Zoe Strachan (Zoe.Strachan@glasgow.ac.uk): for round one please send Arts applications to Zoe.

MVLS: Andy Waters (Andy.Waters@glasgow.ac.uk) and Lindsey Pope (Lindsey.Pope@glasgow.ac.uk) 

Science and Engineering: Vanessa Johnson (Vanessa.Johnson@glasgow.ac.uk)

Social Sciences:  Colleagues who work within the College of Social Sciences should follow the process outlined here to submit an IPDF application. Questions on this process should be sent via email to socsci-international-engagement@glasgow.ac.uk

3. Decision on the IPDF application

Completed IPDF application forms and evidence of support should be emailed to alison.coe@glasgow.ac.uk at the International Affairs team in External Relations. Any applications that do not include evidence of School/College support and match funding support will not be considered.

The application will be reviewed by the region's Dean for Global Engagement. All applications will then be collated and ranked. For round one, the outcomes of the review will be communicated in September or early October. If successful, then funding is usually transferred to a central college project code (unless you specify a particular project code during the application), you will need to arrange for the transfer of the IPD funding to your school.

4. Start your IPDF activity

You are responsible for arranging your own travel (usually using the same arrangements that you normally use within your school).

The IPDF is in year funding and so you will need to arrange and carry out the activity set out in your application ideally before the end of July. Note that in some cases the funding can be used to buy flights and accommodation in advance for activity planned, for example, in August. Any later and we advise you to apply in the next year’s round of IPDF.

Travel and funding criteria

Funding

  • Applications should not exceed £10,000 (this includes match funding). Note that as the IPDF is to support short visits, it is unusual for applications to be awarded the maximum £5000.
  • The money is usually transferred to the central college project codes unless full details of other project codes are provided on the application form (see application process).
  • The funding is in-year funding, therefore it must be spent before 31 July. 
  • The funding does not cover conference travel or expenses, although it can be used to support an extension of conference travel as long as the IPDF award is used for partnership development at a School or College level.

Travel

  • Note that External Relations do not arrange travel, all applicants must arrange their own travel.
  • If you receive funding in an early round then please arrange your travel as soon as possible.
  • To ensure that as many applications as possible are funded, the IPDF will support economy class or rail travel (or related costs for support of projects). If an applicant wants to upgrade their travel then they must budget this separately, not as part of an IPDF application.
  • All applicants should refer to the University's sustainable travel guidance.
  • All bookings must be made via the University travel agency. 

Please follow the latest University travel advice and be sure to arrange insurance. You should fill in the  free University of Glasgow Travel Insurance form online.  Further details on the University’s travel insurance can be found here. 

Activities and examples of IPDF projects

Below are examples of the areas suitable for IPDF.

Example of activity 
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) activity 
Developing an articulation pathway
Summer schools at international partners and other blended/short term mobility routes (at all levels) - note this is for exploratory stage in setting up a summer school, not to fund summer school teaching
Large delegation visit to a priority or potentially new University partner (either within or cross-college)
Collaborative international research opportunity at a School or College level
Online collaboration with partner
Incoming visits/meetings from international partners
Student recruitment
Staff mobility aimed at building a sustainable partnership
Capacity building (professional/personal development)
Extension of conference travel for partnership development at a School or College level (i.e. IPDF should not to be used for solely conference travel)

If you are planning an activity not included above, please email details alison.coe@glasgow.ac.uk

Examples of previously funded IPDF projects 

COIL activity

Enhancing internationalisation and understanding of sustainability through a remotely delivered hands-on STEM challenge with IISER PUNE India (Education 2020)

  • IPDF was used for classroom kits and support for translation.

Recruitment – promoting specific courses

Partnership between SCS and Sun-yat Sen, Qingdao, Jinan, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and South China Agricultural University (Arts 2019)

  • Promotion of Postgraduate course and summer schools / meetings to develop student recruitment articulation pathways / Study Abroad promotion.
  • Funding was used for travel for a member of staff to visit five universities. Each of the institutions was keen to establish links with Glasgow. Following the visit there was an immediate rise in interest from students from the country to want to come to study abroad in Glasgow.

Recruitment – working with ER and other UoG staff in a specific country

Funding to visit universities In Nigeria to promote student recruitment and potential research synergies (MVLS, 2019)

  • Funding was used for a member of staff to visit five universities in Nigeria working with ER's recruitment staff in the region and the International Dean for Social Sciences.
  • As well as recruitment, the staff members were successful in receiving Erasmus ICM funding and developed new links to support research grant applications.

Inward visit

Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Degree set up (Social Sciences, 2013-2016)

  • The IPDF has been accessed over the years to invite potential new Erasmus Mundus Consortium partners to come to the University for initial planning meetings. Glasgow has been part of the programme for over 10 years and currently nine EMJMDs offered in partnership with Glasgow. 

Examples of existing partners

Existing partners will get priority.  

Also for any member of the following networks:

Progress report

Progress report

All successful applicants are expected to complete an online IPDF progress report to update on the project and the specific and measurable success metrics and objectives in the initial application.

These reports will be shared with the relevant Dean for Global Engagement and the College International Dean. All reports are uploaded on the International Funding Sharepoint site.

2023/2024 progress report

2024/2025 progress report

In addition, you may be asked to provide progress reports to the Dean for Global Engagement and to the Business Development Managers at your college at regular intervals throughout the year, this could include participating at events to promote the fund.

If you have a pending progress report then you may not be able to apply for further funding.