OVERVIEW 

The overall goal of Seed Grant program starting from AY25-26 is to provide initial funding for the formulation of external funding proposals and generate preliminary results to improve success rates. The Grant is meant to help VinUni faculty to kickstart your research and proposal development process, but it will not fund ongoing or indefinitely open-ended research endeavors. 

FUNDING AMOUNT 

A single PI can apply for a maximum of $20,000 (VND 520,000,000) per project.

The amount of funding is determined based on the scope and impact of the project’s expected deliverables, with expected outcomes as professional growth for early-career researchers and essential preliminary data to apply for external funding from outside organisation and transforming ideas into tangible outcomes.  

ELIGIBILITY

Seed Grant Program supports all full-time faculty members and/or researchers in launching their new research at VinUniversity.

The Seed Grant program will be administered with structured flexibility, with a focus on achieving results and adherence to the following criteria:   

Eligibility

Ineligibility

The fund should be used to initiate new research projects that are developed after the applicant joins VinUniversity.   Research projects should be aligned with VinUniversity strategy or show high scholarly potential.   The applicant should be designated as principal investigator (PI) who will be responsible for leading the application and managing the grant.   The award is subject to formal approval by VinUniversity’s leadership.

The following are not applicable under Seed Grant programs:    Projects that exist prior to the faculty’s start date.  Funds used as matching or cost-share for external funding.   Use for personal or general operational expenses.   Academic or institutional overhead or use for teaching-reassignment buy-outs (unless strictly research-related).

IMPORTANT DATE

• Call for proposal: August 1, 2025
• Application deadline for applicants seeking consideration in the first review cycle: September 5, 2025.
• Application deadline for applicants seeking consideration in the second review cycle: November 30, 2025

Proposal submission is accepted on a rolling basis; annual cut-off date is May 31, 2026. Final approval by President for 3 batches per year (tentatively every 3 months). 

Note: Proposals submitted after the annual cut-off date (May 31, 2026) will not be accepted.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTION

Step 1: Download and complete the Narrative proposal, Budget proposal and Research plan as provided templates.

Step 2: Submit application on Research Management System: https://rmo.vinuni.edu.vn/. You can refer to this Quick guide to use Research Management System.

For further inquiries, please send an email to the Research Management Office at research@vinuni.edu.vn.

APPLICATION PROCESS

FOCUS AREAS

Research proposals should advance impactful solutions within five key VinUni’s research domains listed in the table below. These domains align with the strategic technology priorities and promote VinUni’s contributions to global and local sustainable development goals (SDGs). 

No	Research Domain	Research Topics	Example awards in AY 2024 – 2025
1	Innovation in Health Sciences	Precision Medicine, Population Health, Digital/Biotech Health, Smart Health, Biomedical Devices, Living Therapy	Mhcareconnect – Empowering Breast Cancer Patients with a Co-designed Digital Mental Healthcare Coordination Platform  Advancing Cardiovascular disease modeling and therapeutics with hiPSC-Derived 3D-Engineered Heart Tissues
2	Environmental Intelligence (EI)	Smart Energy, Environmental Monitoring, Climate Change, Sustainable Materials, Urban Transformation, Green Computing, Renewable Tech	Optimizing Energy Efficiency in Mobile Edge Systems with AI-Powered Sustainable Solutions  Smart recycling for sustainable energy and green urban solutions
3	Brain, AI & Robotics	Robotics (Soft/Humanoid/Drones), Brain-Inspired AI, Optimization, Autonomous Systems, Human-Robot Interaction, Cognitive Tech	Integrating implicit model and feedback architecture toward stable and generalizable AI  Development of a Therapeutic Hybrid Exoskeleton Glove for Enhanced Post-Stroke Hand Rehabilitation
4	Computing & Data Science	Data Science, Computational Science, Privacy & Cybersecurity, IT Systems, High-Performance Computing, Embedded Systems, Data for Society
5	Policy & Sustainable Societies	Heritage & Cultural Studies, Development Policy, Living Labs, Human-Centered Design, Socio-Economic Diversity, Sustainability in Education, Ethics & Philosophy	Bridging Generations: Navigating Experience, Contacts, and Culture in Family Business Succession in Vietnam

POST-AWARD MANAGEMENT AND REPORTING

Project Management  

• Projects are subjected to be completed within two years, with extensions evaluated and approved by the Vice Provost of Research and Innovation. Longer project durations and no-cost extensions may be allowed for up to 1 year. Requests for project extensions must be submitted no later than three months prior to the project’s end date.

• PIs are responsible for ensuring project implementation in compliance with all VinUni research-related requirements and regulations.   

• PIs direct expenditures, ensuring compliance with VinUni financial requirements.  

• PIs notify RMO immediately of any deviation from the proposal, including but not limited to change of PIs, financial budget, implementation timeline, or scope of research activities. Modifications require prior written approval from the Vice Provost/Provost.  

Publication requirements  

• PIs are required to accurately provide their affiliations of VinUni.  

• The format of the affiliation should adhere to the style guidelines provided by the target journal or publisher. The structured format for the affiliation should typically follow the pattern below: 
  • [College/Center], VinUniversity  
  • Address: Vinhomes Ocean Park, Gia Lam, Hanoi, Vietnam 
  • Email Address: VinUni’s email address 
  • Postal code: 100000

Reporting 

• Progress reports must be submitted to the RMO, every six months using templates provided, covering research activity, risks, challenges, data management, and financial updates/forecasts.   

• Final reports: Final project reports are submitted at project conclusion, detailing expenses, outcomes, publications, and external funding.   

TEMPLATE

Template 1: Narrative proposal template

Template 2: Budget proposal template

Template 3: Research plan template

Template 4: Reporting template 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

• VinUni’s Research Policies: https://policy.vinuni.edu.vn/research/
• VinUni’s financial management guidelines: https://policy.vinuni.edu.vn/financial-management/
• Compliance: https://policy.vinuni.edu.vn/all-policies/

FAQs

1. How do I know if I’m eligible for the program?

The Seed Grant program is eligible for all full-time faculty (both teaching-track and research-track) and/or researchers.

2. Can the project has two Co-PIs?

Each funded project shall have a Principal Investigator (PI) designated as the individual responsible for leading the application, managing the awarded funds, and ensuring delivery of project outcomes.

3. If I receive Seed Grant in the previous year, will I be eligible this year?

Individuals who have received internal funding of a comparable level in previous cycles remain eligible to apply. Subject to competitiveness, budget availability, and the decision of the authorized evaluation and selection committee, where technical proposals are equally strong, preference may be given to applicants who have not previously received an Seed Grant award, to promote fairness and equal opportunity for all members.