Call for student-driven Labs projects in 2024-2025

The FORTHEM Alliance is pleased to announce the opening of its second annual call for student-driven projects that relate to the topics of the FORTHEM Labs.

Through this call, the Alliance wishes to support projects involving students from at least two FORTHEM partner universities and at least one external partner (NGO, company, school, etc.) or an end user at one of the nine universities. Each project will be able to benefit from funding up to €5000.

The contents of the projects can vary.

Students have previously arranged:

• webinars on current topics
• student-focused events
• voluntary work and charitable projects
• mini-conferences for aspiring researchers…

Project proposals that involve multiple Labs are highly encouraged.  You can find examples of previous projects on the FORTHEM blog and website.

Working with external partners or using insights from internal users can bring new skills, useful knowledge, and support to your project. This teamwork not only improves your project but also encourages a sense of shared ownership and innovation.

Students can meet and collaborate with people from different parts of Europe by coming up with a project idea, creating a project plan and budget, and then submitting their ideas to the FORTHEM Labs.

Why apply?

Participating in this experience offers you the chance to:

• build project management skills:  take responsibility for projects and improve your leadership abilities skills.
• expand your European network: connect with peers across Europe, enhancing your professional connections and make valuable contacts for the future.
• make a real difference: get involved in meaningful initiatives that have a positive impact on society.

Who can apply?

Regardless of their academic level, students pursuing bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees are all invited to participate in FORTHEM Labs activities or are welcome to propose their own initiatives. Students can apply to all Labs. It doesn’t have to be the Lab coordinated by their own university.

Criteria

• The projects will address a well-defined societal challenge and the work will involve co-creation. Consider some of the pressing societal issues we face today: social inclusion, digital transformation, public health, and sustainability, to name a few. Each of these areas presents unique challenges and opportunities for growth, urging us to think critically and collaboratively about how we can drive positive change in our communities and beyond.
• The project can last from two weeks to one semester, including the planning and implementation period. This call is open for any project executed and reported by the end of October 2025. The call will be renewed each year, and you may apply in the next round for further funding of your project.
• At least two FORTHEM universities must be involved in the project.
• One external stakeholder or a group of internal end users must collaborate on the project. The term «end users » at each university refers to individuals or groups who will benefit from the project’s outcomes, including students, researchers, administrative staff, and faculty. Faculty may use these outcomes for teaching and research, while administrative staff could find new solutions to improve processes. Additionally, the project team might work with other students to develop tools for managing stress.
• Students commit to delivering at least one form of alliance-level communication or dissemination of the project. e.g. a blog post, a social media post, a video, a podcast or other.
• The results, the output and a brief report need to be presented upon completion of the project. A template for the report will be provided in due time.

Examples of former student-driven projects funded by FORTHEM

• Tourism hub
• Building teenager resilience against disinformation
• FORTHEM outreach through Citizen Science on Multilingualism
• Approaches to Multilingualism

Funding

• Each project can receive up to 5000€. A project may receive further funding if more than one Lab is involved.
• Funds will not be paid directly to the students, so contracts or bills from suppliers must be approved in advance by the local FORTHEM office based on the budget, eligible costs and administrative procedures.
• Please ensure you justify the use of funding in the application form.

Eligible costs include:

• Travel costs: accommodation, transport and subsistence of students involved and/or third parties (experts, professors, speakers).
• FORTHEM offices will usually calculate the amount granted to students per mobility based on the same funding rules as individual short-term mobilities (more information here under ‘Funding’).
• Materials for implementation of the project
• Dissemination of knowledge and information
• Catering

Selection criteria and process

• Only one application per project needs to be submitted, regardless of the number of participating Labs or universities.
• All applications will first be checked for eligibility by local administrative staff. Applications will then be reviewed and selected by the academic members of the Lab at the alliance level, based on their topical relevance, quality of co-creation, feasibility and topicality.

Application procedure

• Applications must be submitted through this form.
• Please include a project description and budget proposal.
• Deadline for application: 31.01.2025
• Announcement of results: 20.02.2025

Further information

If you have any questions, please contact your local FORTHEM office for support.