iEarth project funding – call autumn 2020

 

 

Find guidlines as PDF here: Guidelines iEarth project funding

To apply, use this form: iEarth project funding_Application form

Application deadline: 1st of October 2020 

 

Guidelines for proposals – iEarth development projects 

iEarth will create a student-centred, innovative learning environment for future Earth system scientists and citizens to meet complex societal challenges and opportunities. This will be done by promoting active learning and real-world problem-solving through a nationally integrated Earth system science education with a global perspective. In iEarth, students and instructors will join forces to renew our Earth system science education. 

The iEarth Centre of Excellence will function as an incentive and motivation to develop teaching and learning cooperation across departments and universities, engage students in improving their learning environment, collect data, to develop teaching and learning in geoscience and promote SoTL (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning), according to the iEarth vision and progress domains.  

Projects can apply for 5 000 – 50 000 NOK. If a larger budget is needed to carry out the project, iEarth can help to find alternative funding sources.  

Projects can run for 2 years. If needed, projects can apply for follow-up funding.  

 

Call for projects – communication and timeframe 

The call will be announced on the iEarth webpage. It will also be distributed by email at all iEarth partner institutions by the Education Chairs. 

For a period of 5 years there will be two calls every year. The total funding available for each call will vary – for autumn 2020 there is 700 000 NOK available. It is possible to apply for the same project more than once, also if the project has received funding before.  

  • – Call date: 1st of September 2020 
  • – Application deadline: 1st of October 2020 
  • – Funding decision (with feedback) will be sent within six weeks after application deadline 
  • – Start of project: the following spring, unless otherwise specified in the project description

To apply, use this form: iEarth project funding_Application form

Next call for iEarth development projects will be spring 2021. 

  • – Call date: 15th of February 2021 
  • – Application deadline: 15th of March 2021 

 

What can you apply for? 

See the iEarth centre plan for examples. We encourage applicants to contact progress domain leaders if they are especially interested in topics covered by the five iEarth progress domains. Examples of project topics include, but are not limited to: 

  • – Development of a new course based on student active learning approaches 
  • – Development of new student activities 
  • – Development of new teaching methods and material 
  • – Teaching issues related to the Covid-19 lockdown  
  • – Activities improving the student learning environment 
  • – Trying out new teaching methods and materials 
  • – Investigating learning outcomes (SoTL) 
  • – Development of software to be used in an existing course 
  • – Development of visual evaluation tools 
  • – Production of instructional videos 

Funding can be requested for teachers who temporarily need to hire replacements (or teaching assistants) for their teaching to work on such projects. Project funds may also include conference fees to attend SOTL conferences. 

iEarth funding does not cover: 

  • – Teaching sabbatical 
  • – Fieldwork or excursions 
  • – Equipment  

 

Who can apply? 

Faculty, postdocs, PhD students, and students from geoscientific educational institutions. Instructors and students at Norwegian institutions outside iEarth can also apply for funding, however it is required that there exists collaboration with colleagues at the iEarth institutions.  

 

The iEarth project evaluation committee 

The iEarth project evaluation committee will evaluate the received applications and decide which projects get funded.  

The evaluation committee will consist of the education chairs of the iEarth institutions, one committee member with a formal background in education research, the iEarth centre leader and a student representative.  

 

Role of the iEarth board  

The iEarth board, consisting of the heads of departments and student representatives from the partner institutions, will have the overall responsibility to ensure that the projects are funded according to the evaluation criteria and budgets. The board will not be involved in the evaluation of projects.  

 

The evaluation process 

The iEarth project evaluation committee will finalize the priority list 6 weeks after the application deadline to decide on the allocation of project funds. The iEarth network coordinator will report back to applicants by email and funded projects will be announced on www.iearth.no.  

The iEarth project evaluation committee can choose to fund projects for the full budget or give reduced funding.   

In case of potential conflicts of interest in the committee, the member with conflict of interest will be excluded in the evaluation of some of the projects.  

 

Project evaluation criteria 

The projects funded need to: 

  • – Be aligned with the iEarth vision 
  • – Contribute to one or more of the five iEarth progress domains, as specified in the action plan (https://iearth.no/files/2020/06/Action-plan-iEarth_final.pdf)
  • – Include a plan for communicating, sharing, and/or distribute the results from the project 

 

The project will be given priority if it includes: 

  • – Co–creation with students 
  • – Involvement of colleagues 
  • – Involvement of several institutions (both iEarth partner institutions and other)  
  • – A communication and dissemination plan (if possible, for larger projects include plans to publish a peer review paper in an educational journal or present at a SoTL conference) 

 

Project reporting and dissemination 

It is a requirement that all funded projects will benefit the iEarth community and that there is alignment between the DIKU plan for SFUs as well as the contract between iEarth and DIKU. 

In addition to sharing and disseminating project results, funded projects need to submit a short summary report describing:  

  • – Time frame 
  • – People involved (names and positions) 
  • – Original project aim 
  • – Outcome/results
  • – How funds were spent 
  • – How and where the results were shared 
  • – Continuation  

The project report will be sent to the iEarth network coordinator (iearth@uib.no). Reports will be used for iEarth evaluations and shared on www.iearth.no. 

The dissemination and reporting of the project should be compatible with the ambitions of the project.  

Examples of dissemination: 

  • – Workshop or presentation at the Geolearning forum 
  • – Workshop, presentation, or poster at other relevant conference 
  • – Workshop at departments or for/with students 
  • – Information, results, and findings shared at www.iearth.no 
  • – Scientific publication