Over the past years, we have supported researchers across Maastricht University in multiple ways, with our seed funding scheme playing a central role in incentivising interdisciplinary, Europe-focused research and activities. From early-stage research ideas to academic workshops and outreach initiatives, the SEM research calls have frequently served as a starting point for interfaculty collaboration.
Over the past months, we took the time to reflect on and review these research calls. We looked back at what worked well, spoke with researchers who collaborated with us, and considered how SEM can continue to support Europe-related research in a changing academic and societal landscape. The outcomes of this reflection are captured in our report “Five Years of Shaping European Research and Public Debate at Maastricht University (2019–2024)”.
Researchers we worked with in previous years highlighted how SEM funding helped them move ideas forward that might otherwise have remained on the drawing board, whether by exploring new interdisciplinary collaborations or by organising events that connected academic insights to policymakers or societal actors.
Following this review, we are pleased to announce that the SEM Research Calls are now open again.
A renewed framework
The renewed calls continue to support what has always been central to SEM: interfaculty collaboration and high-quality, Europe-focused research and engagement. At the same time, we have sharpened their structure. One important change is that applications are no longer accepted on a rolling basis; instead, we now work with fixed application rounds and clear deadlines.
More than funding alone
While the research calls are an important instrument, SEM’s support to UM researchers goes beyond seed funding alone. We work closely with UM researchers on all our outreach, public debate, and science-to-policy engagement, connecting research to broader European conversations in Maastricht and our region, The Hague, Brussels, and beyond. The renewed calls are therefore also an invitation to think about how SEM can support your research more broadly, including the engagement with societal or policy audiences.
Interested?
We warmly invite researchers from across UM faculties to explore the renewed SEM Research Calls and consider whether they can support your next research step. Full details on the calls, eligibility, and application procedures are available here:
For any questions, please contact us at research@studioeuropamaastricht.nl.
