LSE Campus
The London School of Economics and Political Science and Georgetown University in Washington, DC have announced a new partnership to boost their capacities in research and education.
In January 2025, the two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enable researchers to develop outstanding collaborative projects in a variety of academic disciplines, including Political Economy, Sustainability and Health. This collaboration will foster joint research projects, faculty and student exchanges, and expanded learning opportunities.
The first initiative under the MoU will be a joint seed research fund worth up to £20,000 (approximately $25,800) per application, available to LSE and Georgetown researchers, who identify at least one collaborator from the other university.
The fund is designed to support world-leading research and leveraging international research funding. It will support collaboration through both direct research and partnership-building activities, such as research workshops, joint conferences, or short-term research visits. Up to ten applications will be funded under the pilot scheme, with projects expected to start no later than August 2025.
The two universities will pool financial and institutional resources to enable the successful applicants to work together and create sustainable, longer-term working relationships. These longer-term collaborations are expected to be sustained through funds generated by external grants, tuition from new educational programmes, and philanthropy.
Welcoming the partnership, Interim President of Georgetown University, Robert M. Groves, said:
“Georgetown is excited to partner with the London School of Economics and provide this opportunity for our faculty to collaborate across disciplines and institutions.
“We are eager to see the impact of these collaborative endeavors as our researchers tackle global challenges to serve the common good. This is an important new step in the long relationship between LSE and Georgetown.”
LSE President and Vice Chancellor Professor Larry Kramer, added:
“So many of the solutions to the challenges we face as a world will come from universities and scholars working together.
“This agreement is part of that vital process, and the first step towards greater and closer collaboration with Georgetown in research, educational programmes and public engagement.”
The exciting collaboration will draw upon the insights and assets of Georgetown University and LSE, as leading academic institutions in our respective countries’ capital cities, to form a meaningful and sustainable relationship which produces the highest quality research and educational experiences.