Early Career Educational Research Grants

The ECER Grants encourage members of TF, T&R or CA staff to engage in Educational Research and to identify teaching and learning issues, within or across disciplines, and facilitate an approach to addressing these issues.

The Teaching Innovation Grants scheme supports projects that are both aligned to UQ’s institutional priorities, as identified in UQ’s Operational Plan for 2021, and innovate teaching and learning in Higher Education.

In 2021, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) encouraged applications that sought to innovate teaching and learning in one or more of the following areas:

• Investigate innovative or authentic online assessment and feedback practices, including promoting academic integrity across assessment
• Enhance quality digital tools and content to support engaging learning experiences that also increase flexibility for students
• Increase active learning and engagement in the online and blended environment including, but not limited to, collaborative learning, building a sense of community, or promoting belonging and wellbeing for an enriched experience
• Deepen our understanding of data about learner activities and stimulate the development of learning analytics tools that support research on student learning and retention, student community experience and diverse student cohorts.

Pre-application consultation

It is expected that applicants will initially discuss their proposed application with the relevant Head of School, Associate Dean (Academic) or Executive Dean to ensure the application is appropriate to the needs and strategies of the host school/faculty and ascertain whether the school/faculty is prepared to support both the application and embedding its outcomes at the beyond the conclusion of the project.

Applicants are also strongly encouraged to consult with ITS, Library, ITaLI, educational designers and other units, as appropriate, to inform their application. For advice on who to contact to discuss a project idea, please contact teaching.grants@uq.edu.au.

ITaLI will provide opportunities for project teams to ‘pitch’ to a wide audience, in a virtual offering of the “Pitch your idea” sessions, to allow for feedback and to seek advice prior to submission of the application. These sessions are not compulsory but are highly recommended and should be just one of many consultations undertaken in the development of your project.

Please refer to the Application Guidelines (PDF, 303.5 KB) for important information for projects involving interface with technologies. Please ensure these issues are appropriately considered in your proposal. This includes ensuring that the proposal includes details of your market scan (including your scan of currently centrally supported eLearning tools). To discuss this further, please contact either eLearning (or ITS by email at TIG.Submissions@its.uq.edu.au).

Stage 1: Intent to apply

Applicants will confirm their intention to apply by completing a short online form.

The Intention to apply stage is compulsory. Submitting your Intention to Apply will allow for correlations between your project, school and faculty priorities and central university initiatives to be identified early. This will provide you with an opportunity to develop a project proposal in consultation before the Selection Panel assesses it. This form asks you to provide a draft of your abstract (no more than 200 words), the Lead Investigator’s contact information and details of the members of the proposed project team. Project abstracts are due to ITaLI by 2 August 2021.

These abstracts will also be forwarded to your Head of School, Associate Dean (Academic) and/or Executive Dean as appropriate.

Stage 2: Complete application submission

Applications are to be prepared using the online UQ Teaching Innovation Grants Application Form and Project Proposal Template (DOCX, 54.4 KB).

Please note if you have not completed stage 1 of the application submission process, your complete application submission will not be accepted.

If you have missed the 2 August deadline for the submission of your project abstract, please contact teaching.grants@uq.edu.au.

Pitch your Idea sessions

ITaLI typically hosts five 'Pitch your Idea' sessions to provide applicants with the opportunity to pitch their idea and receive valuable feedback and advice on their project design prior to submitting an application.

There will be a maximum of six (6) pitches per session. Each ‘pitch’ is allocated 15 minutes, comprising:

• A 5 minute presentation on the rationale of the project and the proposed approach (no more than 2 slides).
• 10 minutes of Q&A.

These sessions are available to current applicants who have submitted an 'Intention to apply' and are not compulsory. Places are limited.

Information session

Developing a Teaching and Learning Grant application​

6 July 2021, 11am–1pm

This workshop is aimed at staff who are interested in applying for teaching and learning focussed grants. This session does not focus on a particular grant scheme, but rather provides advice and tips common to all. It takes time to develop an application and this session serves as an opportunity to start that process.

Participants will:

• understand how to structure an effective application 
• hear from previous successful grant applicants and how they pitched their grant idea and commenced planning for their application 
• find out who to contact for help and advice, and
• network.

For current grant recipients, links to progress and final report templates can be found here:

• Progress report
• Final report template (DOCX, 107.4 KB)

If you require an extension to your Early Career Educational Research Grant, please complete the Grant Variation/Extension Request Form (DOCX, 61.4 KB) and email it to teaching.grants@uq.edu.au.

View current grant recipients