Global Seed Funds in Belgium

Ranked the most innovative university in Europe by Reuters in 2016, 2017, and 2018, KU Leuven conducts one of the largest independent research operations in the world. The university regularly produces a high volume of influential inventions, and its researchers submit more patents than most of its fellow universities in Europe. Among the university’s inventions are the world’s leading anti-HIV drug, a leak detection system for aircraft, and an encryption algorithm that keeps personal online data secure.

The MIT-KU Leuven Fund supports new collaborations between faculty and research scientists at MIT and their counterparts at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven). 

Through an annual call for proposals, the fund primarily supports travel costs for exchange between a team at MIT and colleagues at KU Leuven. The KU Leuven colleague(s) must be identified in the proposal.

 All general Global Seed Funds criteria, application, and evaluation procedures apply.

$30,000

Priority will be given to projects that:

• propose a balanced exchange between the MIT and Belgian participants
• demonstrate complementarity between the MIT and Belgian teams
• involve undergraduate and graduate students

The Université catholique de Louvain is Belgium's largest French-speaking university.

Research performed at UCL has led to spin-off firms such as Ion Beam Applications (IBA), a worldwide leader in the field of construction of small cyclotrons for medical and industrial use. Other examples of successful spin-offs are Xylowatt, a company that uses a UCL-developed method to create energy by gasification of waste wood, and Alterface, creator of interactive multimedia systems based on software that reconstructs digital video images.

The MIT-Belgium - Université catholique de Louvain Seed Fund supports new collaborations between faculty and research scientists at MIT and their counterparts at the Université catholique de Louvain.

Through an annual call for proposals, the fund primarily supports travel costs for exchange between a team at MIT and colleagues at UCL. The UCL colleague(s) must be identified in the proposal. 

 All general Global Seed Funds criteria, application, and evaluation procedures apply.

$30,000

Priority will be given to projects that:

• propose a balanced exchange between the MIT and Belgian participants
• demonstrate complementarity between the MIT and Belgian teams
• involve undergraduate and graduate students