The Office of International Relations, Partnerships & Prospects (IRPP), University of Lagos (UNILAG), has announced a call for applications for the 2026 SGroup Intercontinental Academic Exchange Programme (ICON), to promote collaboration, research cooperation, and institutional linkages.
IRPP said the ICON Programme provides administrative staff, as well as PhD candidates from SGroup member universities, the opportunity to undertake mobility at partner institutions abroad. UNILAG is an associate member of SGroup, making its eligible staff and doctoral candidates qualified to participate.
The programme offers grant funding of up to €3,000 to support mobility-related expenses such as travel, accommodation, visa processing, insurance, and other approved costs. Participants are also expected to benefit from opportunities to develop institutional partnerships, engage in research cooperation, exchange professional knowledge, and support internationalisation initiatives.
For 2026, IRPP disclosed that following approval by the SGroup General Assembly, the number of available ICON grants has increased, with a total of 18 grants available across participating regions.
The mobility programme is suitable for individuals seeking to initiate or strengthen research collaborations, develop joint academic and educational initiatives, enhance PhD-level cooperation, support internationalisation at departmental or institutional levels, and gain exposure to education environments.
Eligible applicants include academic staff involved in teaching or research, administrative or professional staff, and PhD candidates enrolled at an SGroup member university. Applications are open to European full-member universities for mobility outside Europe, including Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas, while associate-member universities may apply for mobility to European full-member universities. Full eligibility requirements are contained in the ICON Programme Guide 2026.
The call timeline shows that the first application window opened on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, and will close on Monday, February 23, 2026. A second call, subject to grant availability after the first round, will open on Monday, April 6, 2026, and close on Friday, April 25, 2026. All approved mobility activities must take place between January 7 and December 31, 2026.
Applicants are required to review the ICON Programme Guide 2026 and consult the 2026 ICON To-Do Checklist for step-by-step guidance. They must identify a suitable host institution and secure two support or acceptance letters, one from their home institution and one from the host institution. Upon submission, applicants will receive an automated confirmation email.
Required documents include an online application form stating objectives, work plan, and expected impact, a short CV of not more than two pages, letters of support from both home and host institutions, and a cost estimate for mobility. More details are provided in the ICON Programme Guide.
For enquiries or institutional endorsement procedures, IRPP advised interested applicants to contact Professor Ismail Ibraheem via iibraheem@unilag.edu.ng and inter_rel@unilag.edu.ng, or Dr. Victor Onifade via vonifade@unilag.edu.ng.
To apply, interested applicants are to submit the online application form via the ICON platform. Apply here: https://sgroup-unis.eu/icon_form.
