October 18-20 | Tucson, AZ

The Research Institution GAP Fund and Accelerator Program Summit

MIT MISTI GLobal Seed Funds enable mult-disciplinary, multi-university collaboration

Get our GAP Insights Newsletter

Join Us

October 23-25, 2024 / Atlanta, GA

The annual summit for research institution gap fund and accelerator programs, including proof of concept programs, startup accelerators, and university venture funds

The Story

MISTI Global Seed Funds grants enable participating teams to spend time together, either at MIT or abroad, with the aim of developing and launching joint research projects. To date the funds have supported 304 projects through awards of $6M. This program is in line with the future vision of an open university approach with lower institutional boundaries and the belief the the best researchers in the world should be collaborating regardless of affiliation.

Program description

GSF comprises a general fund for projects in any country and several country funds with their own requirements. Projects that match the requirements of a country fund must apply to that fund; all others should apply to the general fund. All funds adhere to the general GSF guidelines.

Most funds provide a maximum of $30,000 per proposal. Since 2008, the program has awarded over $6 million to 304 projects.

Proposals must be jointly submitted by the MIT and international applicants. Applicants are encouraged to involve MIT undergraduate and graduate students in their projects.

Funds are intended to be used during the initial phase of developing an international collaboration. Funds are not considered as sponsored research and cannot cover salaries or materials. As such, no intellectual property should be derived from these funds, nor should they be cited in technology disclosure forms.

disclosure forms.