U21 Collaborative Seed Fund Recipients 2025 Announced at U21 Annual Network Meeting at UC Davis, California
9 May 2025
We are delighted to announce the recipients of the inaugural U21 Collaborative Seed Fund Awards at the U21 Annual Network Meeting hosted by the University of California, Davis. The U21 Collaborative Seed Fund is a new initiative designed to inspire innovation and foster collaboration across the U21 network with successful projects receiving between $5,000–$10,000 (USD) depending on the focus area.
In its first year, the fund focused on three priority areas:
- U21 Communities of Practice
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
- Global Education Collaboration
Following a highly competitive selection process, we are pleased to fund four projects outlined below:
U21 Communities of Practice (COPs)
Supporting existing COPs to strengthen connections and share expertise across U21 member institutions.
Project Lead: Esther Loseto-Gerritzen, University of Nottingham (in collaboration with the U21 International Dementia Network)
Project Title: Strengthening and expanding the International Dementia Network Community of Practice
About:
Dementia is a major public health concern that requires urgent, multidisciplinary and international collaboration. The Collaborative Seed Fund supports The U21 International Dementia Network Community of Practice Network’s attendance at the U21 Health Sciences Annual Meeting (theme: Aging Across the Lifespan) at McMaster University. Here, The International Dementia Network Community of Practice Network will contribute to a plenary session on Innovative Pedagogies in Dementia Education, providing an excellent opportunity to expand the network, discuss future grant and research collaborations, and support early-career researchers and PhD students.
The International Dementia Network Community of Practice is honoured to receive the U21 Collaborative Seed Fund 2025! Dementia is a major public health concern that requires urgent, multidisciplinary and international collaboration.”
-Esther Loseto-Gerritzen
Project Lead: Robin Miller, University of Birmingham (in collaboration with University of Johannesburg and The University of Queensland)
Project Title: Inter-professional working within communities and neighbourhoods
About:
The Social Work Community of Practice brings together colleagues from across the U21 network to explore new areas of research and practice linked to the profession. This project, which was developed by the University of Birmingham, University of Johannesburg and The University of Queensland will facilitate shared learning between our members on the opportunities and challenges of health care and social work within communities and neighbourhoods. Outcomes will include a joint virtual event with the Health Research Exchange Community of Practice in 2025 and collaborating on a workshop at the International Conference of Integrated Care in Birmingham in 2026.
“Delighted the Social Work Community of Practice has been awarded U21 Collaborative Seed Funding to further our shared understanding of community and neighbourhood working in health care and social work”
-Robin Miller
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)
Promoting initiatives that enhance inclusivity, equity, and diversity within and beyond the U21 network.
Project Lead: Omolabake Fakunle, University of Edinburgh (in collaboration with The University of Queensland, Lund University and the University of Auckland)
Project Title: Mapping the EDI landscape: Insights into Racial Equity initiatives across the U21 network
About:
This project, led by Omolabake Fakunle (University of Edinburgh) in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Auckland, The University of Queensland and Lund University will undertake a cross-institutional, exploratory, and comparative analysis of the EDI landscape surrounding racial equity initiatives in varied global contexts. Guided by the U21 Framework for Equitable and Inclusive Global Engagement, the project will examine efforts to promote and embed EDI, while exploring ways to inform policy development and support the practical implementation of racial equity.
Delighted to be awarded the U21 EDI Collaborative Seed Fund to explore, and share insights, in due course, on the EDI landscape around ‘racial equity initiatives’ in different global contexts!”
-Omolabake Fakunle
Global Education Collaboration
Advancing innovative approaches to global education through cross-institutional collaboration, building on the 2024 Global Education and Senior Leaders Meeting outcomes.
Project Lead: Paula de Solminihac, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (in collaboration with the University of Melbourne, National University of Singapore, University of Hong Kong and Lund University)
Project Title: Harnessing Digital Collections to Boost Learning Across the U21 Network
About:
This project led by Paula de Solminihac (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile) alongside colleagues from the University of Melbourne, National University of Singapore, University of Hong Kong and Lund University will act as a catalyst to spark interest in harnessing museum collections as a pathway to more interdisciplinary and humanised learning through COIL. Utilising this grant, the project team will gather information on how university collections are currently being used to enhance learning at U21 universities. Likewise, they will raise awareness of museum collections at U21 partner universities and share pedagogical guidelines for harnessing existing resources to create meaningful international teaching collaborations.
Collections have the value of telling stories that transcend human time. Using digital collections as pedagogical tools will allow us to improve our human development to the extent that each of these collected pieces connects us to multiple lives and past histories.”
-Paula de Solminihac
As the inaugural year for the U21 Collaborative Seed Fundi, we have been impressed by the outstanding quality of projects and innovative collaborative ideas submitted.
We look forward to seeing how these projects develop and inspire further innovation across our network – congratulations again to all recipients.