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The Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) commissioned the HES-SO as the Leading House (LH) for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Its overall goal is to develop scientific collaborations between Switzerland and countries of the MENA region.
Goals
The Leading House MENA has set three strategic goals:
- Further development of the research cooperation between Switzerland and countries with a high development potential in the above mentioned region with funding instruments designed according to the interests of the Swiss research community
- Increase of knowledge on countries with a high development potential among the Swiss research community through the availability of contacts and know how
- Representation of the interests of the Swiss research community towards potential partners in the region.
The LH MENA in numbers
MENA institutions
Awarded projects
Swiss institutions
Program 2025-2028
SEFRI has confirmed that the HES-SO will coordinate Leading House MENA for a third term, from 2025 to 2028.
A new thematic call entitled “Research in Crisis-Affected Contexts: Continuity, Participation, and Reconstruction” has been launched. The deadline for applications is set for 23 January 2026.
In addition, a new call for “Connect & Collaborate” projects has been open since 22 July 2025 and will remain active until December 2025.
Finally, a new edition of the “Research Partnership Grants” call was launched in May 2025. This call is now closed, and results are expected to be announced before the end of 2025.
The Leading House MENA 2021-2024 mandate was officially launched at the Kick-off Event 2021-2024 on October 18, 2021. You can find the presentations and excerpts from this event on the following page.
For the 2021-2024 period, the focus is on cooperation for research projects, with the introduction of “Research partnership grants”, a regular instrument that is launched three years in a row. This is followed by a larger instrument, the “Consolidation grants”, launched in the second half of the term.
Each call is announced individually on this website and by email. You can subscribe to our mailing list by writing to lhmena(at)hes-so.ch
In another development for the Leading House, these instruments are now open to all MENA countries, except in special cases: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
Detailed conditions and eligibility criteria are specified in the regulations for each instrument.
You will find below lists of researchers' profiles interested in a partnership as part of the Swiss Leading House MENA. These lists are updated every 7 to 10 days.
A specific list exists for the "Research in Crisis-Affected Contexts" call 2025
You can download the lists at any time and filter them by country, domain of research or keywords to identify potential partners.
If you would like to be included on one of these lists, please register using the forms below.
Last updated on 11 November 2025.
If you would like to add your profile to one of the lists of researchers interested in a partnership, simply fill in the appropriate form.
There is a form for researchers based in Switzerland and a form for researchers based in the MENA region.
There is also a specific form for researchers based in Switzerland interested in the "Research in Crisis-Affected Contexts" call 2025
Your profile will appear for two years, after which you will need to resubmit it, at your convenience.
Nawal Kinany
Head of Emerging Countries
R&I Programs unit
See more details
Send an email
Michael Krieger
LH MENA coordinator
See more details
Send an email
Laure Steiner Convers
Intern
See more details
Send an email
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