Leading House Asia Pacific Funding Call 2025

We provide seed-funding support for joint research projects, policy engagement and PhD mobility between Switzerland and the Asia-Pacific. We welcome applications from Swiss-based researchers to collaborate with research, policy or innovation partners in any of the Asia-Pacific countries that form part of the Leading House mandate. The 2025 call offers two funding lines, a Scientific Collaboration Fund and a Mobility Fund.

The Scientific Collaboration Fund invites proposals for projects developing ambitious research networks or addressing important policy challenges.

The Mobility Fund supports short-term mobility for PhD researchers, including lab-to-lab exchanges (reciprocal mobility) and placements in collaboration with academic start-ups.

Partner institutions are eligible if they are based in: 

Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN member states (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam).

Deadline for applications: 8 March 2026 (17:00 CET)

The Scientific Collaboration Fund provides seed-funding to foster research links between Swiss research institutions and collaborating partners in the Asia-Pacific. Projects build sustainable networks for the Swiss higher education sector in the Asia-Pacific region and leverage partnerships for knowledge exchange, ambitious research initiatives, or effective transfer into practice.

The Mobility Fund facilitates flexible, short-term mobility for PhD researchers between universities in Switzerland and the Asia-Pacific. We support projects that enhance research training, support PhD scholars in building their global networks, and foster sustainable links between supervisors and institutions.