MIT-Israel Seed Funds for Faculty Collaboration 2025-2026 Call for Proposals

The MIT Center for International Studies is pleased to announce that the 2025-2026 cycle of the Global Seed Funds (GSF) is now open, with applications due December 16, 2025. 

The GSF grant program promotes and supports early-stage collaborations between MIT faculty members and researchers and their counterparts around the globe. Many of the joint projects funded lead to publications, additional grant awards, and the development of valuable long-term relationships between international researchers and MIT faculty and students. 

GSF grants enable participating teams to spend time together, both at MIT and abroad, with the aim of developing and launching joint projects. Most funds provide a maximum of $30,000. 

GSF is comprised of a general fund and several country, region or university-specific funds created by CIS country programs including; MIT- Israel Funds and MIT-Middle East Fund. Details below:

MIT-Israel Zuckerman STEM Fund 

Open to MIT faculty from all disciplines to collaborate with Israeli faculty at one of the following Institutions: Bar-Ilan University; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Technion - Israel Institute of Technology; Tel Aviv University; University of Haifa; and the Weizmann Institute of Science. MIT PhD students must be included in the proposal. 

MIT-Israel Broshy Medical and Healthcare Fund 

Open to MIT faculty from all disciplines to collaborate with researchers at all Israeli universities on medical and health related research. Priority will be given for research collaborations (1) related to Brain and Cognitive Science research, or (2) with faculty at The Open University of Israel. 

MIT-Middle East Global Seed Fund

Open to MIT faculty to collaborate with a research lab in Israel and from one additional country in the Middle East. Priority will be given to applications that engage issues across borders and on a regional scale, including Climate & Sustainability (including food and agriculture), Global Health, Artificial Intelligence, and Social Impact.
 

All funds adhere to the general GSF guidelines. 

Application deadline: December 16, 2025 

Apply here: https://misti.mit.edu/faculty-funds/apply-funding 

For more information or Frequently Asked Questions, visit: https://misti.mit.edu/faculty-funds/faculty-funds-faq