115 Collaborations & Growing
A Transnational Academic Partnership
The Birmingham-Illinois Partnership for Discovery, Engagement & Education (known as “BRIDGE”) was established by the University of Birmingham (UK) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (USA) has been flourishing for a decade.
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Research Areas
Together, we have created a flourishing network of faculty relationships, generating impressive research results and funding successes. There are now dozens of active research relationships across a wide range of disciplines.
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Joint Funding
Through mutual investment, a joint research fund has been established by both universities to which faculty members from each institution are encouraged to apply.
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Fellowships
The partnerships long-term fellowship programs strengthen our collective expertise and support early-career scholars in developing their network through collaboration with offices, facilities, and institutes at both universities.
Since 2014, we’ve…
Latest News
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BRIDGE Seed Fund: Call for Proposals from Permanent Faculty and Research Staff
The BRIDGE Seed Fund is now accepting proposals for the 2025-2026 academic year. Permanent faculty and research staff members at each institution may submit applications for funding.
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Global South Fellowship to foster groundbreaking research across education, health, sustainability
Birmingham and Illinois launch Global South Fellowship to promote research collaboration and partnership development for early-career researchers from the Global South.
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Reflecting on BRIDGE: Storyteller details importance of global partnership; shares first-hand account of 10-year celebration
Analicia Haynes, the storyteller and social media specialist for Illinois International, shares reflections after covering the BRIDGE 10th Anniversary.
Featured Videos
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A Visit to BiFoR
Staff visit the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR), which provides science, social science, and cultural research about global forested landscapes.
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To the Next 10 Years & Beyond
Prof. Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela (Illinois) and Prof. Robin Mason (Birmingham) in conversation about the next ten years of BRIDGE.
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