Three Research Projects Receive Support from the Fondation pour l’Université de Genève

Following its first call for proposals, the Fondation pour l’Université de Genève (FUNIGE) has awarded funding to three research initiatives led by professors at the Geneva School of Economics and Management. These grants support high-impact research addressing major contemporary challenges, including artificial intelligence and extreme weather events, the measurement of inequalities worldwide, and policies to combat deforestation.

Established in 2025 with the support of the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, FUNIGE aims to strengthen research and innovation at the University of Geneva. Its activities include the Major Projects programme, which supports large-scale initiatives, and the Support programme, designed to foster innovative, high-potential research projects.

Global Time Use Lab: Rethinking Inequality Through Time Use

Professors Giacomo De Giorgi and Charles Gottlieb have been awarded CHF 1.77 million under the Major Projects programme for the GTUL – Global Time Use Lab project.

The Global Time Use Lab places a frequently overlooked dimension of inequality at the heart of economic and social analysis: how people allocate their time throughout the day. While paid work is extensively measured and documented, much of the time devoted to childcare, eldercare, household production, education, religious activities, and rest remains poorly understood, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

The project seeks to address this gap by expanding and enhancing the Harmonized World Time Use Survey (HWTUS), a harmonized database of time-use surveys covering 65 countries, while also leveraging the Harmonized World Labor Force Survey (HWLFS), a global micro-dataset covering 115 countries. This research infrastructure will underpin an ambitious research agenda aimed at improving our understanding of the drivers of inequality, gender disparities, the influence of social, religious, and institutional norms on the organization of work, and the relationship between time use, well-being, and economic development.

GTUL will also contribute to the design of evidence-based public policies, particularly in areas related to care work and inequality reduction. In the longer term, the project aims to establish the University of Geneva as a leading international hub for time-use research through collaborations with international organizations, national statistical offices, and academic partners around the world.

REINTEGRATE: Bridging Forest Restoration and Deforestation Prevention

Professor Matthieu Stigler has been awarded CHF 126,000 through the Support programme for the REINTEGRATE project.

Deforestation remains a major challenge for both biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation. While zero-deforestation policies have helped reduce forest loss by excluding producers associated with deforestation from supply chains, they may also create unintended consequences by limiting opportunities to restore already degraded land.

REINTEGRATE explores an innovative approach that would allow such producers to re-enter supply chains, provided they commit to forest restoration efforts. The project will assess whether these mechanisms can be reliably monitored using satellite data, whether they effectively contribute to land restoration and the prevention of future deforestation, and how they affect ecosystems and carbon storage.

By combining satellite data analysis, econometric methods, and fieldwork in Brazil, REINTEGRATE will generate valuable evidence to inform tropical forest conservation strategies and support the development of future international regulations.

EXTREME-AI: Improving Forecasts of Extreme Weather Events

Professor Sebastian Engelke has received CHF 87,000 through the Support programme for his project EXTREME-AI.

Artificial intelligence-based weather forecasting models have recently achieved remarkable performance in short-term weather prediction. However, they remain less reliable when it comes to anticipating extreme events such as heatwaves, storms, and record-breaking precipitation.

EXTREME-AI aims to address this challenge by combining advances in artificial intelligence with the tools of extreme value statistics, a discipline specialized in the analysis of rare events. The goal is to develop new approaches that improve the robustness and reliability of forecasts precisely when the consequences for society are most significant.

The expected outcomes will help strengthen preparedness for climate-related risks and support the transition toward a new generation of weather forecasting systems that are more accurate, transparent, and accessible.

2026