A key mission of the UGPN is to foster collaborative research between the partner universities.
This is achieved by UGPN activities including:
1. Facilitating international meetings, seminars and workshops to stimulate constructive interaction between researchers and exchange of ideas;
2. Providing seed funds to allow researchers to take international collaborative projects forward;
3. Encouraging expansion of projects through external funding and scale-up of research activities between UGPN universities and external partners.
Cross-disciplinary and challenge-led research with real-world impact is championed by the UGPN, with a focus on research which addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals. See below for examples of projects supported by the UGPN.
2220000
US dollars invested since 2011
79
Research projects funded since 2011
23
Trilateral projects
7
Quadrilateral projects
The Research Collaboration Fund
The UGPN Research Collaboration Fund (RCF) has been an integral part of the network since its inception in 2011. The fund has supported a number of bilateral, trilateral and, since the University of Wollongong became the fourth UGPN member in 2015, quadrilateral research projects across a broad range of academic disciplines. Providing starter funds of up to $10,000 per partner, per project, has allowed new research interactions to begin. It’s enabled students and staff to move between organisations linked to these projects, and ultimately enabled the research to secure external funding. To date the annual fund of US$240,000 has supported 79 research projects, covering a range of topics including carbon economies, bio-nano interfaces, genes and behaviour, international trade, visitor impacts and mathematical modelling.
Recent Research Collaboration Fund projects
Below are a few examples from the 79 projects funded by the UGPN over the past 10 rounds of funding since 2011/12
Optimize control interventions for Visceral Leishmaniasis |