Guidelines for 2022-23
Aims and Purpose
The Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine aims to support and encourage staff to enhance their teaching to enrich the experience of both our students and teachers.
The ‘Education Innovation Fund’ provides funding to enable staff who teach to undertake an educational project. For example, a project may aim to:
- Support the development of a research proposal
- Investigate and improve curriculum delivery
- Teaching and assessment practices
- Create an educational resource
- Trial a new approach to teaching
- Undertake reviews of literature to inform teaching
- Additionally, the Fund will consider small education research projects that address local, faculty or College priorities.
In summary, the Fund has a broad scope aiming to include the variety of teaching interests and needs.
The College Education Strategy aims to ‘Educate to Inspire and Inform’ and ‘Research to Inform and Innovate’. The key ‘Principles’ sets out what this might involve across: ‘Curriculum, Assessment and Feedback, Academic Support, and the Learning Environment’. These may stimulate ideas for projects. Aligning with the Education Strategy is welcomed and encouraged, though good ideas addressing local concerns are also important and will be considered.
Costings – Allowed and not Allowed
This year we have been given matching funding from the Faculty to allow projects of up to £10,000 to collect data to support the development of a research proposal.
Additionally, the Fund will consider:
- Small education research projects that address local, faculty or university priorities – maximum £4000.
Eligible costs: Equipment for the project, research assistant supports (typically part-time), travel (appropriate to undertaking the project), consumables (materials you need but do not have, to undertake your project).
Ineligible costs: Computers, international travel, recurring costs such as licences for software, projects that support individual UG, PGT or doctoral students’ studies, conference attendance.
Equipment needed to support core teaching is funded separately and is not funded within the Innovation Fund. This includes equipment for general use in practical classes or the simulation suites. If you are unsure whether your request might be considered core equipment, please seek advice initially from the technical staff in the relevant teaching area.
Students working within Innovation Funded projects cannot use or build upon this work as part of their degree programme. We cannot employ students to study towards their degree!
For example: students cannot work on a project over the summer, be paid for that, and then complete or develop that project within their taught degree programme.
Indicative costs:
Involving students in your project: the College Rate of approx. £12 hr should be applied.
Transcription costs: £8 per thousand words + vat. Estimate 1 hour of digital audio time is approximately 9000 – 10000 words.
Based on ‘The Typing Works’ business. Adele Herson : adele@thetypingworks.com
Applications – Allowed and Not Allowed
An applicant can only lead on one proposal but can contribute to others.
‘How will the funds be paid?’
The funds will be paid directly to a new AC account created solely for each of the successful Education Innovation Fund applications. Please submit your application form along with the New Activity Code Request Form. Applications submitted without it will not be reviewed by the panel.
The Process and Timeline
Applications will be considered by an internal panel
Sunday 11th December 2022: Submission deadline for project proposals. Submit to: centreforeducation@kcl.ac.uk
Week starting 21st December 2022: Applicants notified of outcome.
Whilst we encourage applications from partner NHS Trust staff who teach on our programmes, applications must be submitted jointly with a Faculty staff member.
Projects that are successful must start the project within this academic year.
Completion of a project funded from £1000 and upwards will be expected to write a brief report within a year from the project start date as stated in the application form and projects funded £4000 and above will be expected to present and discuss their project as part of the ‘Centre for Education Seminars’ and will be encouraged to present at the College Learning and Teaching Conference.
Projects funded for less than £1000 will not be expected to write a report.
For advice on any aspect of the process please contact: helen.collins@kcl.ac.uk or richard.wingate@kcl.ac.uk.