Funding and grant opportunities
Experimentation grants (Phase 1)
The Experimentation Grants are small scale funding awards of up to £500 for educators at the University of Exeter who want to understand, ideate, test, explore a teaching and learning challenge and develop outcomes that can lead to a potential proposal for a future Incubation grant. We will award up to ten Experimentation grants on a rolling basis over the 2024-2025 academic year. The open call for these grants will be made live in September 2024.
An experimentation grant enables educators to;
- Gather a diverse group of people together to explore an educational challenge (workshops, focus groups, discussions, creative piloting);
- Access to software or hardware to enable early experiments;
- Pay for catering, venue hire, or vouchers given to students or those not employed by the university in recognition of their participation and time;
- Training, networking and conference attendance.
Incubation grants (Phase 2)
Incubation grants are funds to support education pedagogic innovation and are for our educators; academics and professional service staff, at the University of Exeter who want to test ideas, explore, and transform their teaching and learning practice, as well as improve student engagement and the learning experience.
These are awards of up to £5000 with the expectation of the project to be delivered over six-months starting September 2024.
Themes
Each year Global Classroom will identify themes under which projects should align their application. The themes for 2024-2025 are:
This theme invites projects that seek to explore using data and Generative AI to positively support learning, teaching and assessment, and develop students’ skills and outcomes for a future that is AI and data orientated.
We invite applications that have the potential to enhance the student learning experience, improve critical reasoning skills, strengthen creativity and prepare students for real-world applications.
This includes applications that address academic integrity, inherent biases and social and ethical issues. Projects should identify how to explore, foster and make an impact on academic rigor, inclusion and diversity.
Applicants are encouraged to consider how these tools might be applied appropriately for different student groups or those with specific learning needs.
Projects should also demonstrate how they will share best practice within the university and create opportunities for collaboration and innovation across the UK HE sector as the use of data and technology and its application in education evolves.
Projects should involve meaningful opportunities for University of Exeter educators to collaborate on innovative activities with international partners.
Projects should demonstrate how they will share best practice in the landscape of Collaborative Online Learning (COIL) and how the exploration of data and technology and its application can enrich global educational exchanges.
We invite applications for projects that explore innovative assessment practices that address inclusive and adaptive assessment, authentic and creative assessment, and generative AI resistant assessment.
Innovations can include designing for accessibility and inclusion, building in a variety of, and creative ways to assess or provide feedback, and exploring programme level assessment.
Projects can focus on enhancing assessment methods using real-world challenges, experiential and problem-based learning, and consider assessment methods that provide students with portfolio-building learning.
This theme's aim is to support educators to consider making assessments inclusive, authentic and engaging for our students.
Projects should involve meaningful opportunities for University of Exeter educators to collaborate on innovative activities for assessment with international partners.
Projects should demonstrate how they will share assessment practices in the landscape of Collaborative Online Learning (COIL) and how the exploration of intercultural, interdisciplinary and international group work can be assessed and awarded using the three pillars of Transformative education; Inclusive Education, Social and Racial Justice and Sustainability.
We will foster the development of the next generation of global citizens and change agents who contribute to the creation of a fairer, greener, and healthier world through the alignment of our curriculum to the Transformative Education Framework and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
We invite applications that explore teaching and learning activities and innovations that enable students to critically respond to the challenges facing our society, and projects that support our students to build educational, organisational, community and business connections outside of the context of the university, where students can extend and deepen their university learning.
Projects can focus on racial and social justice, sustainability and mapping to the UN SDGs, inclusivity and accessibility, and demonstrate how learners can map skills, attributes and educational gain, and support our learners’ agency to create change and contribute to the creation of a fairer, greener, and healthier world.
Projects should involve meaningful opportunities for University of Exeter educators to collaborate internationally on innovative activities for students; creating environments for experiential global learning.
Link to internal University resources:
Who can apply?
Any academic and professional services member of staff from the University of Exeter is eligible to apply for an award. We welcome applications that look to build networks with one or more partner universities.
The Global Classrooms Incubation grants provide:
- funds up to £5,000 enabling Exeter’s Educators to develop Global Classrooms projects with another global University/international partners.
- facilitation and support from the Global Partnerships team to guide growing collaborative partnerships.
- expert and high-quality advice, guidance and services from the universities Education Community for Learning Experiences and Innovation.
Selection criteria
Funding applications are jointly assessed by Global and Education colleagues to assess the project's viability. Applications will be assessed via a competitive selection process using the following criteria:
- Perceived value for money of the initiative
- Potential to develop sustainable connection / collaboration with a global partner, which can benefit students' year-on-year
- Achievability and strength of envisaged outcomes
- Potential to produce tangible outputs and benefits of high quality / impact
- Number of students benefiting from this project
- Student satisfaction with the Global Classroom
- Their potential to impact pedagogic practice across the University
- Alignment with Global and Education Strategies
- Alignment with the Sustainability and travel policy
Important notes
- Your Head of Department must have signed off on your completed application to the Exeter Education Incubator, and we will need confirmation.
- We encourage you to talk with the Ethics Team at the University of Exeter to understand the ethical review process and engage in the Research Ethics, Governance & Compliance SharePoint.
How to apply
You can apply by completing the online application form: Experimentation and Innovation Project Proposals
The deadline to receive completed applications will be 5pm on Monday 22nd July 2024.
Applications will then go to a panel review and applicants will be informed of the outcome the week beginning of Monday 29th July 2024.
Acceleration grants (Phase 3)
The Acceleration Grants are smaller grants for our Education Incubator Fellows who have completed Incubation Grants (or Project Grants) that have demonstratable outputs and who want to continue the development of their project and scale their promising innovations. We would expect applicants to seek external and/or internal funding and our acceleration grant will be awarded as match funds, up to £5000.
The open call for these grants will be made live in September 2024.
What are we looking for?
- Applicants have secured Incubation Grant funding previously;
- The project has the potential to scale and be viable;
- Demonstratable goal for long-term sustainability;
- Applicants have secured funding through internal or external sources which we can potentially match fund.
What will the project team receive?
- Sharing of the Experimentation and Innovation team grant network for known opportunities;
- Facilitation and support from the Global Partnerships team to support growing collaborative partnerships.
- Expert and high-quality advice, guidance and services from the universities Education Community (Learning Experiences and Innovation, Learning Design and Learning Development, and Experimentation and Innovation)
- Network opportunities with Exeter Innovation.
