Circle U. Seed Fund: discover the 11 funded projects

A strong response to the 2025 call

The 2025 round drew 33 applications, of which eleven were selected for funding, representing a combined budget of €95,621. Six projects are led by women, and the selected initiatives span a broad range of disciplines, from health sciences and ICT to arts, social sciences and education. 

Funded Projects

Educational Projects

• Strengthening Statistical Literacy in Health Sciences: Latin America – Circle U. Collaboration (SLAM-U)
  Lead: Dr Fernando Valentim Bitencourt, Aarhus University
• Circle Out! by Circle U. (CO!CU)
  Lead: Madeleine Harbich, University of Vienna
• Planetary Health in European Medical Education (PHEMED)
  Lead: Victoire de Lastours, Université Paris Cité
• Young Influencers: Empowering Leadership for Democracy (YIELD)
  Lead: Professor Dan Banik, University of Oslo
• Coding as a Foreign Language (CodeFL)
  Lead: Dr Timothy Pullen, King’s College London
• Interactive Objects in Computer Science and Mathematics (IOCSM)
  Lead: Dr David Kohan Marzagão, King’s College London

Educational and Research Projects 

• New Challenges for the Circle U. Collections (NCFCUC)
  Lead: Marino Ficco, UCLouvain
• Intergroup Hostility and Dialogue (SEED)
  Lead: Professor Saskia Schäfer, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
• AI Leadership in Higher Education (AILEAD)
  Lead: Dr Jelena Dzakula, King’s College London

Student-Led Projects 

• Climate Conversations: Students Driving Awareness Across Borders (CC:SDAAB)
  Lead: Eliane El Haber, Université Paris Cité
• Safeguarding Academia and Equity (CREDO)
  Lead: Ivana Nikolic, University of Oslo

These eleven projects illustrate the breadth of expertise within Circle U. and the alliance’s shared commitment to collaborative, forward-looking work. Each project will be showcased in further detail in 2026 as part of a dedicated communication campaign.

Congratulations again to all the project leaders and their teams!