India’s Department of Science & Technology (DST) has thrown open remarkable windows for collaborative international research. If you’re a faculty member, scientist, or young researcher — read on before these deadlines disappear.
Here at The Innovators Jam, we believe the best science doesn’t respect borders. When a researcher in Pune connects with his Vienna counterpart, or a lab in Bangaluru joins forces with partners in Berlin and Brasília, something bigger than the sum of parts happens. DST’s International Cooperation Division has issued three live calls for proposals for such collborations. Whether you’re chasing quantum breakthroughs, climate resilience, or a long-dreamed bilateral collaboration, at least one of these was made for you. Read on:
DST and Austria’s Federal Ministry have jointly opened a call for collaborative joint research projects and the thematic areas are genuinely exciting for the next decade of science. We’re talking quantum technology, astro-particle physics, biotech, and the kind of digital infrastructure research that powers everything else. The call runs through June 5, 2026, so the clock is ticking.
What makes this stand out? Both Indian and Austrian PIs get dedicated national contacts and funding through their respective agencies — the collaboration is built into the structure, not an afterthought. If you’ve been eyeing the Austrian research ecosystem, this is your door in.
The five research themes open for this call:
– Digital Research Infrastructures & Data Spaces
– Astronomy, Astrophysics & Particle Physics
– Quantum Science & Technology
– Environmental & Earth System Sciences
– Life Sciences & Biotech
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If your work touches the planet — water systems, coastal vulnerability, food security, or earth observation — the BRICS STI Framework Programme designed this call for you. The sixth edition focuses entirely on Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, and it demands the multilateral ambition the topic deserves: consortia must involve researchers from at least three BRICS nations.
This is the kind of grant that forces you to build your most ambitious team. The science problems here — building catchment-scale resilience, tracking climate impact through earth observation satellites, managing the water-energy-food nexus — genuinely require multiple perspectives and geographies to solve. If you already have collaborators in Brazil, Russia, China, or South Africa, start a conversation today.
3. DST DFG joint call on International Research Training Groups (IRTG)
Applications for Indo-German IRTGs intended for DFG-DST funding are open to all subject areas covered by DST, and interdisciplinarity in joint projects is encouraged. An IRTG should be run by two teams of participating researchers in India and Germany, respectively. Each team should have approximately 5 to 10 members with proven expertise both in the IRTG’s main research topic and in providing outstanding supervision to doctoral students.
The participating researchers’ expertise at the two locations should be complementary and provide added value to the IRTG. Each team of participating researchers in an IRTG should be based at a single institution in India and Germany, respectively. In convincingly justified cases, an IRTG may be based in more than two institutions.
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