Apply now: funding for student-staff teaching partnerships

Students and staff working in partnership can now apply for a £500 funding boost as the annual Partnerships in Learning and Teaching (PLanT) Projects scheme opens for applications. 

The PLanT scheme provides funding of up to £500 for small-scale collaborative projects where students and staff work as partners to identify problems, find solutions, and enhance teaching and learning at the University.

In 2022/23, the PLanT scheme funded eight projects including:

• a project which paired up five Part 1 Economics students with five Part 3 NUIST students (studying in Reading) to boost their confidence in maths and communication respectively. The staff project lead, Dr Fangya Xu, said, “The five Part 1 domestic students achieved very good maths results and they provided highly positive comments. Feeling confident about maths, two BA students transferred to BSc. The Part 3 students had some constructive comments and positive feedback too. This project enabled me to execute an idea I always had regarding learning by teaching and learning from each other in the context of maths and language.”
• a collaborative project in the School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences co-led by Carmen Lam and Ajay Chavda to evaluate whether additions to two modules are working well and to make recommendations for how to enhance diversity and inclusion. Carmen, the staff project lead, said, “we have conducted an online survey and a focus group meeting with our MSc students to find out whether the existing practices of Active learning, Authentic teaching, learning and assessment, Blended with digital, and Connecting individuals to collaborative learning, employability and research work well, also to design practices for diversity, inclusion and Decolonising the curriculum to make our MSc curriculum more inclusive. Students gave very positive feedback that we can implement in the coming year. The findings from this project provide significant evidence for the module design and preparation in Portfolio Review which were shared with our colleagues in a departmental meeting."
• a project in the School of Politics, Economics and International Relations exploring social loneliness in university students. Julia Cunningham, one of the student partners, said, “The project's success stemmed from its emphasis on open discourse and providing students a safe place to share their experiences. When conducting the focus group, I was particularly intrigued by the intersecting factors that impact the experience of social loneliness in international students. Whilst most students formed strong peer connections, some still experienced social loneliness due to overlooked factors, like university closures during holidays, for instance.” The project leads, Dawn Clarke, Vicki Matthews and Robert Hogge added, “Hopefully the video we produced can go some way to alleviating instances of social loneliness among SPEIR students.”
• a collaborative project in the Institute of Education, bringing together students, staff and local partnership schools to explore and transform found materials to re-use, recycle and transform into an eco-sculptural installation. The project leads, Mel Jay, Suzy Tutchell and Cydni Akbar said, "We were thrilled to be awarded PLanT funding for our project 'Left Behind'. It enabled us to work cross phase, and cross programmes at the IoE, alongside pupils from our partnership schools in both Primary and Secondary education. The project culminated in an outdoor installation which made a visual statement about plastic pollution. The work that went into the project linked to the Institute of Education climate and sustainability education agenda and was recognised when we were awarded a University Collaborative Award for working in this field."

Please visit the PLanT webpage to view the criteria and guidance and to download the application form.

The deadline for applications this year is 17:00 on Monday 13 November 2023.

T&L Initiatives Funding also available

We are also welcoming applications for our T&L Initiatives Funding scheme. The scheme aims to support small-scale initiatives across the University that will enhance teaching and learning and/or the student experience. Applications should normally be for £1,500 or less, and they will be considered on a rolling basis. The funding must be spent and cleared by 31 July 2024. Please visit the T&L Initiatives Funding webpage for more information and to download the application form.