Teaching Innovation Grants empower UQ Educators to shape the future of learning
The University of Queensland has announced the recipients of the 2025 Teaching Innovation Grants (TIGs), which support educators to test new ideas that improve teaching, learning and the student experience at UQ.
Fourteen projects have received funding, tackling some of the most pressing questions in higher education, from the ethical use of artificial intelligence to embedding Indigenous knowledges and creating neuroinclusive classrooms.
Among the awarded projects is AI Unsettled: Bias, learning and Indigenous knowledge in the age of GenAI, which will explore how the rapid uptake of artificial intelligence intersects with Indigenous perspectives in curriculum design.
Dr Ren Perkins, said the project was inspired by their work within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behaviour Sciences, to support schools in Indigenising Curriculum.
“I was observing how people were relying on AI to help them in this task. While AI has so much potential, there needs to be serious conversations around how we use this tool, especially in an Indigenous Knowledge context.”
“We can influence academics to think about how Indigenous Knowledges can have a positive impact on how they interact with AI,” he said.
Another project, Co-designing neuroinclusive curriculum, assessment design and pedagogy through neurodivergent student experiences, led by Associate Professor Miriam Moeller and Dr Felipe Retamal Walter, focuses on embedding neuroinclusive practice in teaching and learning by actively listening to the voices of neurodivergent students and their educators.
“Our project centres the lived experiences of neurodivergent students to co-design and deliver an evidence-based framework that helps educators embed neuroinclusive curriculum, assessment, and pedagogy into everyday habits and teaching practices.”
“We anticipate that this project will shift the higher education sector more broadly from engaging with reactive accommodations to proactive and universal inclusion. By co-creating resources with neurodivergent students, we aim to transform teaching culture at UQ by moving towards teaching and learning environments that foster belonging, flexibility, and genuine accessibility for all students.”
Professor Gregory Winslett, Director of the Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation, said the grants are a practical investment in teaching excellence.
“Teaching Innovation Grants are one of the ways UQ turns our ambition for excellent teaching into concrete action. They give staff time, resources and recognition to test new approaches, gather evidence of what works, and then bring those benefits back into the mainstream of our programs.”
Winslett said TIGs give educators the space to focus on improvements that directly support students.
“For UQ, teaching excellence is not just about maintaining high standards; it’s about continually asking how our teaching can better serve our students and communities. Teaching Innovation Grants allow educators to explore that question in a focused, supported way, rather than squeezing ‘innovation’ into the margins of an already full workload.”
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Kris Ryan congratulated the recipients for their contribution to teaching and learning at UQ. “This year’s projects exemplify the spirit of collaboration, curiosity and innovation that TIGs represent.”
“TIGs show how seriously we take the idea that teaching at UQ can constantly evolve,” he said.
Winslett thanked all grant recipients for leading change.
“Thank you for being willing to test new possibilities in front of your peers and students. We’re looking forward to learning alongside you, sharing your findings widely, and making sure that good ideas don’t stay hidden in a single classroom or discipline.”
Explore the full list of projects funded by the 2025 Teaching Innovation Grants.
Expressions of Interest are now open for the 2026 Teaching Innovation Grants. For key dates, guidelines and support resources, visit the Teaching Innovations Grants page.