ZHdK Funding

The funding opportunities offered by External Affairs and Cooperations include both project-based funding and an independent scholarship programme. In this way, they actively contribute to the achievment of ZHdK’s strategic objectives (see ZHdK Strategy 2024ff) and strenghten the university’s position as an internationally connected, visible, and collaborative university of the arts.

Global Partnerships Fund

Through the Global Partnerships Fund, the External Affairs and Cooperations team supports projects initiated by ZHdK staff and faculty that contribute to the university’s strategic goals in the areas of connectivity, internationalisation, and intercultural collaboration. Between 2027 and 2029, each department will receive annual funding of CHF 6,000. The call for proposals is issued each September and is administered through the respective departments.

The fund supports projects that initiate or further develop collaborations with higher education institutions outside the Erasmus+ area, preferably in the Global South, and that create a direct benefit for ZHdK students. In doing so, the programme contributes to strengthening the university’s global connectedness and advancing ‘Internationalisation at Home’.

'Global South' Scholarship Programme

Since 2024, the Global South scholarship programme has given students from socio-economically challenging backgrounds from the Global South the opportunity to spend an exchange semester at ZHdK.

In line with ZHdK's strategy, this third-party funded programme aims to strengthen cooperation with partners from the Global South and to sharpen ZHdK's international orientation. This way, (predominantly) new collaborations with seven universities in Mexico, Chile, South Africa, Brazil and Armenia were established, thereby enabling mobility opportunities that otherwise would not have been possible. The programme also makes a valuable contribution to “Internationalisation@Home”.

Over a period of three years, a total of 15 scholarships were awarded via the scholarship programme. ZHdK will welcome the last cohort of Global South scholarship holders for the autumn semester 2026.
 

ZHdK Project Funding

ZHdK Fund for Intercultural Student Projects

Via its ZHdK Fund, External Affairs and Cooperations provided funding for international student projects of outstanding artistic, creative, and/or cultural mediation quality that engaged with issues of cultural diversity.

Between 2016 and 2025, a total of 125 selected projects carried out by individual students or student groups were supported. Taking place across 53 countries worldwide, the peojects contributed to the university’s intercultural collaboration and international engagement.

World Map Project Funding 2016-2025

Funded Student Projects

ZHdK Fund for Intercultural Faculty and Mid-Tier Staff Projects

Between 2013 and 2025, the External Affairs and Cooperations team provided funding for projects by ZHdK faculty members and mid-tier academic staff that addressed issues of cultural diversity.

Through its ZHdK Fund, selected projects that contributed to the development of formats and processes in the field of intercultural collaboration were supported, thereby creating added value for the university’s internationalisation and its students.

Funded Faculty and Mid-Tier Staff Projects