New Call for Student-Led Projects 2025-2026

Background and Objectives

CIVIS – Europe’s Civic University Alliance is inviting student-led initiatives to create a way through which students, academics and local actors can cooperate with a transdisciplinary approach for developing innovative and inclusive initiatives to drive societal change. This call aims to select proposals that showcase our distinctive CIVIS approach — co-creation, challenge-based learning, innovation, civic engagement, and societal connectivity, with a strong focus on European values.

Your participation will bolster our ongoing commitment to develop and offer enhanced student-led experiences for students within CIVIS, including extra-curricular activities to experience and reflect European commonalities and diversities, as well as supporting co-created on-site and online activities and events on local, European and global issues and challenges.

Who Can Apply?

We invite all CIVIS students to join us in this collaborative endeavour. Applicants must be teams of students:

• individual groups of students from one or more CIVIS universities (Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD students) currently enrolled for the project duration;

• student associations operating inside a CIVIS university or the CIVIS Alliance.

Individual students can apply initially, but international team work is expected in each project.

Note: PhD students/candidates should contact their CIVIS Local Contact to make sure they do not submit projects for which they run the risk of double funding (see section “Who to Contact?” below). Also, PhD students apply as students, not as academics.

Individuals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and youth organizations outside CIVIS universities may participate as partners, but are not eligible as organizers of projects or to receive funding. Academics of the CIVIS universities are not eligible as the sole organizers of projects, but may receive some funding in co-created projects (e.g. for travel).

Note: Associate member universities in Africa may participate in projects in this call. However, some funding and regulatory constraints apply. Contact your CIVIS Local Contact to explore options (see section “Who to Contact?” below).

What Types of Activities Are Funded?

Student-led projects are defined as extra-curricular activities and initiatives which are initiated, conducted, managed, and implemented by students registered at any CIVIS universities and associate member universities. Projects can range on topics related to civic engagement, student academic events as well as student cultural events by promoting the European identity and values.

Activities can include (but are not limited to) community service projects, civic hackathons, public forums/debates, civic education clubs, conferences, student-led community research projects or cultural/social events.

What Are the Requirements?

CIVIS Student-Led Projects must

• be initiated, organized and run by students or co-created by students

• support the general goals of the CIVIS Alliance

• have a transnational dimension by either (a) being organised and carried out by students from at least three CIVIS universities; or (b) having a clear plan to engage students of at least three CIVIS universities other than your own.

CIVIS Student-Led Projects must also fulfil at least two of the following criteria:

• directly address the current group of CIVIS exchange students at one CIVIS location

• benefit a wider group of students at the CIVIS universities

• engage with local communities and promote civic engagement

• be related to an activity or the thematic of the CIVIS Hubs, e.g. by addressing at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• be related to a CIVIS Open Lab project

• promote/celebrate the CIVIS Alliance

• be co-created with an academic or a local partner

• relate to or address local, European or global issues

Note: You must contact all universities in your project, where an activity of your project is taking place or whose students are taking an active part in the organization or running of the project. An email confirmation must be included in your application. The same applies if you plan to collaborate with any other partner, in particular an academic, a local partner or a CIVIS Open Lab.

CIVIS Student-Led Projects must be designed to be achievable with the budget restrictions set out below and should expect to run for no longer than one year. In particular, student-led projects supported by this call should be designed to start at the beginning of the 2025-2026 academic year and should be completed by June 30th, 2026. If your project can be repeated in a series annually (or another interval), be sure to watch out for a fast-track approval in subsequent iterations of this call!

Projects may be stand-alone projects, or they may be a part of a larger project with a longer-term aim/objective. In the case of the latter, you must make sure the aims and objectives of each CIVIS Student-Led Project can be clearly distinguished from the overall project. For example, there could be annual repetitions of projects like festivals, hackathons, etc., but each needs a clear individual theme, profile, etc. Likewise, there can be a CIVIS part in a bigger project funded by other sources, where the CIVIS contribution needs to be clearly outlined and defined.

What Is the Funding Scheme and what Are Eligible Costs?

You may apply for a maximum amount of 10.000 Euros.

If your proposed budget project exceeds this amount, consider whether you could work towards your results with a series of smaller more targeted projects. Co-funding from other sources is permitted, as long as you ensure the project is not double funded by European funds. Your university’s CIVIS Local Contact can help preparing your budget (see section “Who to Contact?” below).

Eligible costs must be directly linked to objectives of the student-led projects. These include:

• mobility costs (for meetings or other project-related travel);

• expenses for publicity, communication and dissemination (e.g. posters, flyers, other publications);

• expenses for activities, e.g. catering that is appropriate to the event, according to each university’s policies;

• other expenses in line with CIVIS and/or local disbursement regulations – contact your CIVIS Local Contact if you have any questions or doubts.

Ineligible costs / activities include:

• direct transfer of funds to third parties (outside the university)

• subcontracting of activities to third parties (outside the university)

• purchase of equipment

• other restrictions may apply, please ask your CIVIS Local Contact.

Important: Talk to your CIVIS Local Contact before you submit your project to understand what is possible or not possible in your country/university!

Funds will be received through your home university and you will need to comply with the local / national legislation and your university’s processes. For groups of students from more than one university, the draft budget shall include a distribution of the applied-for funding among the universities involved.

Who Offers Guidance & Support?

For each project, some mentoring and support will be provided, based on the specific needs of the project. Also, CIVIS will contribute through its student structure, the CIVIS Global Student Council, who will both endorse and support the selected projects.

As a rule, CIVIS participants in Student-Led Projects can rely on:

• CIVIS Local Contacts who will support the administration of student-led projects, in particular the planning and administration of the budget;

• CIVIS communication channels to share their project communication;

• Standard mobility procedures which are supported as usual at each university;

• Global Student Council, which will endorse all projects;

• CIVIS Open Labs coordinators, if applicable, as well as other relevant CIVIS members and groups;

• Structural support provided by the standard CIVIS structure for any CIVIS activity, e.g. for mobility and communication needs (via the CIVIS Local Contacts).

How to Apply?

STEP 1: Consult the CIVIS Local Contact at your university about your initiative before submitting it (see “Who to Contact?” section below); they must confirm that your proposal can be submitted. Also, you must contact all universities and other partners collaborating in your project before you submit and supply proof of their participation in your application (e.g. a positive answer via email).

STEP 2: Submit your proposal using this online form. For the proposed budget, download this form, fill it in and upload it when prompted during the submission process. You will be asked to submit proof of the current enrolment status of the main applicant, as well as proof of contact from all universities and all other collaborators in your project (e.g. email confirmation or use this template).

Apply

What Happens Next?

Evaluation: The evaluation is divided into two steps, which is why it may take some time.

• Step One: your proposal will be reviewed by a dedicated panel composed of students, academic and professional staff selected across CIVIS teams. The evaluation will focus on the project’s compliance to the listed criteria, as well as on its financial feasibility.
• Step Two: If it passed the first step, your proposal will be evaluated by two independent reviewers. These come from the CIVIS academic community and other relevant CIVIS groups and they will assess the quality of your proposal.

Results: The assessment panel will submit its recommendations first to CIVIS Global Student Council for endorsement, then to the CIVIS Management Committee and CIVIS Steering Committee for final validation and budget approval.

Follow-up: Once your proposal is validated, you will be required to report on your activity and its implementation. In particular, a financial and a mobility report will be required.

What Is the Timeline?

• 18 March 2025: Call opens. Proposals should be submitted through the CIVIS platform by using this form with all required documentation (in particular, the proposed budget plan) and confirmations from any participating institutions.

• 30 April 2025: Submission deadline.

• May-June 2025: Evaluation period.

• July 2025: Results and detailed planning phase. We will work with you to make sure your project plan is feasible and we will agree on the final budget, outcome, milestones and timeline of your project.

• August 2025 to June 2026: Implementation of selected projects.

Who to Contact?

General contacts about the call:

• General Inquiries: student-call@lists.civis.eu

• Global Student Council: student@lists.civis.eu

For help on finding students and to develop proposals together, you may also contact the members of the Global Student Council via their shared mail above. The more specific you are, the more likely you will receive a positive response. For example, describe your idea for a project shortly and indicate which university you are particularly interested in, for example by addressing your mail to council members from those universities by name. (see: https://civis.eu/en/engage/student-council).

Here is a list of the CIVIS Local Contacts for student-led projects at the CIVIS universities (as of February 25th, 2025):

CIVIS Local Contacts