Strategic Partnership Framework (SPF)

Six interconnected objectives

The SPF pursues collaboration through six objectives that reinforce one another:

• Sandwich PhDs: joint doctoral trajectories with shared supervision and shared research output, often leading to a double or joint degree.

• Non-degree mobility: short academic visits, research stays, and exchanges that build relationships and seed longer collaborations.

• Co-funding: shared investment between UG and partner institutions, combining local scholarships with UG matching to make collaboration sustainable.

• Academic matchmaking: connecting researchers across institutions to develop joint projects, proposals, and supervision arrangements.

• Educational innovation: joint course development, summer schools, and other forms of educational cooperation.

• Visibility: joint events, communication, and shared positioning that strengthen both institutions' presence in the region.

SPF mobility instruments

The SPF includes two dedicated mobility instruments that support the framework's objectives, in particular Sandwich PhDs and academic matchmaking:

• Talent Travel: up to EUR 1,500 to support a prospective Sandwich PhD candidate visiting Groningen to identify supervisors and shape a research proposal.

• Staff Travel: up to EUR 1,500 for UG academics to visit Strategic Partner institutions, and vice versa, to build supervisor networks and joint agendas.

All SPF mobility funding requires matching from a UG faculty involved in the visit.

The Sandwich PhD: a flagship model

The Sandwich PhD is the SPF's flagship instrument for doctoral collaboration. It combines local scholarships from partner countries with UG co-investment and joint supervision, a model that builds research capacity on both sides.

Co-publications with SPF partners in Latin America have more than tripled over the last decade, with notably strong citation impact, including field-weighted citation scores up to 4.1 times the global average.

Outcomes include high completion rates, strong research productivity, and durable institutional ties. A Sandwich PhD can lead to a double or joint degree where a formal agreement is in place.

Looking ahead: 2026–2030

The SPF continues as a university-wide policy with renewed funding through 2030. Three priorities guide the period ahead:

• Deepen current partnerships: moving from individual mobility to joint and double degree programs, joint research consortia, and shared positioning.

• Selective expansion: remaining open to new partners that meet the framework's criteria and add genuine strategic value.

• Broader academic alignment: extending SPF collaboration across academic fields and deepening engagement through stronger internal and external alignment.