HUJI/U of I Joint Research and Innovation Seed Grant Program

2024 Call for Proposals

Printable version
Printable budget template

Note: 2024 Information and Partnering Webinar RSVP deadline has been extended to April 1, 2024.  RVSP here: https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/1092905611

Purpose of the Program

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI) and the University of Illinois System (U of I) are jointly launching the fourth round of the Joint Research and Innovation Seed Grants Program for university research scientists. This program aims to facilitate both research and development cooperation and delivery of talent, innovations, and resources from these universities to the marketplace. The program will be interdisciplinary in nature and the review process will include assessing innovation and commercialization potential. The goal of these awards is to promote economic development through R&D of innovative technologies, while facilitating cooperation between the two universities. The expectation is that these initial projects will lead to or continue long-term collaborations, institutional and research relations, and generate publications, applications for third-party funding and/or joint supervision of graduate students.

Information on the funded projects from previous rounds can be found here: round one, round two, round three

The Hebrew University’s International Office and the University of Illinois System’s Office of the Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation (OVPEDI) will administer the program.

Priority Areas

Priority focus areas for the program include all STEM topics and life sciences in general. Both universities’ worldwide reputation and standing in these topic areas – along with the strong potential for technology development and commercialization – made them clear choices for this seed grant program.

Interdisciplinary initiatives are being encouraged. The joint funding program aims at supporting first as well as more advanced steps in a proof-of-concept collaboration. The application should address the commercial viability of the project, technical details and overall planning, the clarification of intellectual property rights that are likely to be generated (position and strategy), and plans for securing funding for the project at the end of this seed grant and other forms of commercial discussion that are envisioned.

Funding

• Total funding available for this round is $200,000. Costs will be shared equally by HUJI and U of I.
• $50,000 will be awarded to each project, and up to four projects will be funded. Each team will have at least one participant from HUJI and one participant from U of I with an even distribution of budget for each university.
• Each selected proposal will receive an even distribution of funding from HUJI and U of I to their respective faculty.
• The project must be completed within two years of funding.
• Funding can be used for personnel expenses for postdocs and student workers (no faculty salaries), supplies, travel, meetings and for additional expenses that are necessary to move research forward. No indirect cost recoveries (ICR) can be charged to these grants.
• Selected teams will submit an annual technical and fiscal summary report/presentation.

Intellectual Property (IP)

For purposes of this program, intellectual property will remain with the university that generated such intellectual property (what’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours). In the event that new intellectual property will be generated jointly by the universities from the seed funding, both universities will agree to reach a mutually beneficial agreement with respect to intellectual property ownership, management, protection and further development and exploitation.

Application

Proposals for the activities that will last for two years must be jointly submitted by faculty of the HUJI and U of I. Participants are encouraged to include both senior and junior faculty of HUJI and U of I. All teams will be interdisciplinary in nature and each team will have at least one participant from HUJI AND one participant from U of I. Applicants must be faculty members of the universities. Priority will be given to applying teams which have not received previous support within this scheme.

The supported activities should have a clearly defined focus with scientific and technical merit, demonstrate innovation and economic impact, and serve as a catalyst for moving research forward to a path of commercialization (when relevant). The activities can take place either at HUJI or the U of I. Inclusion of third parties is permitted, however the additional costs must be covered by these partners themselves.

The proposal should clearly explain the motivation for holding the activity, including how the relevant HUJI and U of I institutes or departments are involved and can benefit in the long term from this cooperation and what synergies can arise.

The proposal should include the following sections:

1. Executive Summary
2. Project description/narrative (up to 7 pages) including:
   1. Clearly formulated project plan and goals
   2. Innovation and Commercialization potential and benefits
   3. Plan to assess effectiveness of proposal outcome
3. Project timeline (max. project duration two years)
4. Project Budget (USD) (please provide a breakdown using this template)
   1. HUJI (USD)
   2. U of I (USD)

5. Description of HUJI and U of I PI’s research profiles (interdisciplinary nature, excellence ofproject leaders, scope of the fields/labs represented in the proposed activity) and synergy between them.
6. Information on how the cooperation can be sustained beyond the initial seed funding phase; plans for securing funding for the project at the end of this seed grant and other forms of commercial discussion that are envisioned
7. How IP will be addressed
8. Written endorsement statement of respective HUJI/U of I heads of faculty/department/institute
9. Short CVs of project leaders on both sides and list of other HUJI/U of I participants

Selection Criteria

Funding for joint activities will be provided on a competitive basis, following the criteria below:

Evaluation

Evaluation will be conducted by a joint team consisting of representatives from Hebrew University and the University of Illinois System. Selection of representatives will be coordinated by the HUJI International Office and the U of I System OVPEDI.

Recipient Obligation

Recipients must mention the funding in all appropriate media. Any events arising from activities supported by this funding should include an acknowledgement of “HUJI-U of I Joint Research and Innovation Seed Grants Program” and any publications/presentations arising from activities supported by this funding should include acknowledgement of “This publication/presentation is supported in part by the Joint Research and Innovation Seed Grants Program between HUJI and the University of Illinois System.”

Recipients must submit annual technical and fiscal summary reports/presentations during the funding period.

The expectation is that these initial projects will lead to or continue long-term collaborations, institutional and research relations, and generate publications, applications for 3rd party funding and/or joint supervision of graduate students. Upon completion of the project, recipients are required to fill out a questionnaire regarding the results.

Recipients must comply with all relevant laws and university regulations, including those relating to intellectual property, codes of conduct, etc.

Submission and Deadlines

The application will be submitted using the following link: https://go.uillinois.edu/HUJI-UI-Proposal

For further information please contact
HUJI: Alma Lessing (almal@savion.huji.ac.il; +972-2-5880454)
University of Illinois: Jisu Hong (jisuhong@uillinois.edu; +1-217-300-6686)