Two international research grants for 2025 are now open: 

1. ADB City Builders Challenge: Reimagining Urban Futures (Deadline: 30 Sep 2025)

2. Sustainable Innovation Accelerator (Deadline: 30 Sep 2025)

ADB City Builders Challenge: Reimagining Urban Futures

This challenge aims to empower individuals from any background to explore solutions, share bold ideas, and help shape more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities for the future.

Funding Organization: Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Themes:

Proposed models should be around one of the following themes:

• Mobility & Transport – Make movement safer, greener, smarter especially during disruptions.
• Green Spaces – Use nature to protect the city and improve well-being.
• Waste & Water – Show how cities can manage trash, floods, and clean water in ways that safe and reliable under pressure.
• Inclusion & Accessibility – Design for women, children, persons with disabilities, and underserved communities.
• Technology & Innovation – Use smart solutions to anticipate problems, connect people, or speed up recovery.

Eligibility: Participants must be from ADB member countries.

Benefits: Exceptional entries may receive further exposure, certificates, or opportunities for collaboration.

Application Process: 

To formally participate, applicants must:

• Sign up to officially join the ADB City Builders Challenge and gain access to updates, resources, and optional learning sessions.
• Create your city model using a city builder of your choice. Choose a featured city and reimagine it around a real-world theme like mobility, inclusion, or climate resilience.

Application Deadline: 30 September 2025

Further information: https://challenges.adb.org/en/challenges/adb-city-builders  

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Sustainable Innovation Accelerator

L’Oréal partners with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)’s innovation experts to scout, identify, pilot, and scale breakthrough technologies addressing critical solution gaps within the industry in support of its sustainability transformation.

Funding Organization: L’Oréal Groupe

Scope: Sustainable innovation

Eligibility: 

Deployment-ready sustainability innovation from startups, scaleups, SMEs and established companies from around the world, at TRL 7 or higher, that align with one or more of the seven key innovation areas outlined below:

• Low-carbon, climate-smart technologies
• Water resilience solutions
• Nature-based solutions
• Alternative ingredients and materials
• Eliminating fossil plastic use and plastic waste 
• Circularity and resource management
• Sustainable and inclusive business models

Benefits:

Successful applicants will join an up to 12-month programmed that includes: 

• A 12-week group acceleration support delivered by CISL innovation team, focused on pilot readiness.
• Up to 12 hours of 1:1 mentoring and coaching from global sustainability, innovation and industry leaders.
• In-person or virtual peer-learning sessions.
• The potential opportunity to co-develop pilot projects with L’Oréal, including, if applicable, the potential opportunity for commercial agreement or investment.
• Leveraging CISL’s sustainability expertise and L’Oréal’s leading cosmetics industry position.

Application Process: Applications must be submitted online at https://cambridge.smapply.org/prog/_lorals_sustainable_innovation_accelerator/ 

Application Deadline: 30 September 2025

Further information: https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/loreal-sustainable-innovation-accelerator

For more information, please contact

Ms. Panida Suwannatheerak and Ms. Mananchaya Pissaparn

Tel: 0 2470 9654

Email: researchfollowup@kmutt.ac.th