SPIRIT programme: Endocrinology, glacier retreat and academic writing skills
Thanks to SPIRIT, Swiss researchers can work with colleagues in the global South. The SNSF funds eight further projects worth 4 million francs.
The eight projects each receive 500,000 francs and consist of teams of 2 to 4 researchers. The grantees are based in Switzerland and in the following partner countries: Columbia, Ecuador, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The share of female grantees is 52%.
Rare genetic disorder
One of the projects is a collaboration between the Lausanne University Hospital and Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan. It focuses on the study of a rare genetic disorder which has been previously uncharted in Pakistan, namely congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH), a dysfunction of the gonads. Another project unites the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and the National Institute of Glacier and Mountain Ecosystem Research in Huaraz, Peru. The two institutions examine how glacial retreat affects mountain ecosystems and agriculture in Peru. Researchers from the University of St. Gallen collaborate with Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. The aim of the project is to design and evaluate a machine learning-based support system, which is able to assess the quality of academic texts and provide students with self-monitoring reports on their writing practice.
Submissions until 2 November
The next submission deadline for SPIRIT applications is on 2 November 2021 at 5:00 pm.