Dr Sancheeta Pugalia from UTS's Faculty of Engineering and IT recently shared how receiving a World University Network (WUN) Research Development Fund grant enabled her to establish an international research network and create opportunities for global collaboration.
Building global research connections through the World University Network
The Worldwide Universities Network Research Development Fund is an annual competitive fund that aims to bring together researchers from WUN member universities to undertake innovative, high quality, sustainable research that addresses global challenges.
The Fund supports innovative, internationally collaborative research aligned with sustainable development priorities and provides grants of up to £10,000 (approx. A$18,900) for one year to foster research collaborations among academic staff at WUN member universities.
Creating a global network
As an early career researcher who joined UTS two years ago, Sancheeta saw the WUN grant as a valuable entry point into research funding. After attending an information session hosted by UTS Global Partnerships, she began assembling an international research team by leveraging her professional networks and connections across WUN's member universities.
"I started reaching out to researchers through emails, explaining our research problem and asking if they would be interested in collaborating," she said. "Fortunately, I received positive responses which helped us build a truly international team."
The project brought together collaborators from South Africa, the United Kingdom and Mexico to explore how machine learning can be used to predict water quality using publicly available datasets.
The team is currently analysing a range of water quality parameters and developing predictive models that could support more effective environmental monitoring and decision-making.
Sancheeta credits the WUN program and the support of the Global Partnerships team with helping turn her idea into a successful application. Feedback from experienced colleagues and previous grant recipients also helped strengthened the proposal which was awarded funding soon after submission.
Beyond supporting the research itself, Sancheeta said the greatest benefit has been the opportunity to establish a global network of collaborators.
"Without this WUN funding, I might have limited myself to researchers within Australia, New Zealand or India," she said. "The grant encouraged me to connect with researchers from different countries and perspectives, which has been incredibly valuable."
Sancheeta shared how the collaboration has already created new opportunities. As the current project progresses, the team is exploring future funding applications they could prepare together, including a new proposal being led by collaborators in Mexico.
The grant encouraged me to connect with researchers from different countries and perspectives, which has been incredibly valuable.
Sancheeta encourages other early career researchers considering international collaborations to take advantage of the support available from potential partners across the WUN network.
"There's a lot of competition, but there are also a lot of people willing to help. Building those connections can open doors to exciting opportunities and future research partnerships."
Apply for funding
If you're interested in leading a collaborative research project through the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), applications are now open for the 2026 WUN Research Development Fund that is open to all UTS academic staff.
Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) as a principal investigator. This role involves guiding the project’s vision and coordinating with your counterparts at other WUN member universities.
To get started, please submit the internal UTS LOI form here.
- The Letter of Intent (LOI) submission is part of the initial UTS internal review process undertaken before a formal application is submitted to WUN.
- The deadline for LOI submissions is Monday, 31 August 2026, at 11pm AEST.
- One LOI will be selected at UTS to be developed into full proposal.
The LOI should address:
- Project details
- Evaluation criteria
- List of co-investigators and their corresponding universities
- Funding requested
- Categories of expenditure you are planning to use funding for
- Outcome and Impact
Please note that you should only submit an LOI if your intention is that UTS will be the lead institution on your project.
Read the eligibility and evaluation criteria.
Attend the online information session on 11 August at 1pm to learn more.