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Apply for either £450 or £850 in funding for staff and students to work in partnership on a project to enhance the student learning experience at UCL.
ChangeMaker project application deadlines
25 February 2022
- (please continue to use the old form if you have already started - we will accept both for this deadline)
- ChangeMakers Frequently Asked Questions
Drop-in sessions to support your application
- One-to-one drop-in sessions to talk to us about your idea and ask any questions you have. We can advise on your project idea, whether it's just a spark or more fully formed Sessions are open to UCL students and staff.
- 30 minute online slots for those who have a draft application ready and would like some feedback to make it stronger. Be ready to give and receive some feedback in small groups! Please note the slot on Thursday 24th Feb 15:00-16:00 will be face-to-face (Torrington Place location).
Attend a session on your chosen project theme. On the ChangeMakers application form, we ask you to state which theme your project relates to: Authenticity and Inclusivity in Assessment; Inclusivity in the Curriculum; Learning Communities. In these sessions, you will hear about current research, good practice, and past projects on your chosen theme.
What are ChangeMakers Projects?
UCL ChangeMakers has been running at UCL since 2014. It was set up to support students and staff working in partnership on projects that improve the learning and wider student experience at UCL. Staff and students can apply for funding of £450 or £850 to make improvements in their departments.
ChangeMakers project funding is a great resource for taking action on student feedback and ensuring students play an active role in bringing about change. It is also a great way to support student ideas for making improvements to education at UCL. If you are interested in applying, please download our application pack:
A partnership approach
ChangeMakers projects are perfect where staff and students want to work together to address a problem, explore an idea or make a change. We call this a 'student-staff partnership' project. It recognises that both staff and students bring different but equally valuable perspectives, ideas, experiences and expertise to a project.
Who can submit an application for ChangeMakers funding?
Anyone can submit a proposal (staff or students) although we strongly encourage you to develop and submit your application as a team. Applications coming from students will need a statement of support from a member of staff in their department (or related to their project) to confirm that the department supports the project, that it addresses student priorities and that they will work with those students as their staff partner, including taking respoonsibility for ensuring projects are conducted ethically.
£450 or £850 funding available.
You can apply for either £450 or £850 in ChangeMakers funding. This funding is to pay for student stipends for the project team and for any other project costs. You will be asked to submit a budget outline as part of your application. Funding will be transferred to your department and will need to be spent by the 31st July 2022.
Project themes
Projects will be asked to submit under a specific theme. This is to ensure that the projects are a good use of student and staff time and will address areas of most pressing concern.
Change and Innovation Themes for 2021/22:
- Learning communities & belonging
- Inclusivity in the curriculum (see also our Equitable & Inclusive Teaching case studies)
- Developing authentic and inclusive assessment
- Academic development and support
Research & Evaluation Theme for 2021/22 (pilot)
- Building on what we’ve learnt from remote and blended learning
How will you decide which projects get funded?
Funding for ChangeMakers projects can be competitive and we recieve a lot of applications in a year. All applications are looked at by a panel of staff and students across UCL who will be looking at each application against the following criteria:
- Projects will improve the student experience, demonstrating an inclusive approach (for change & innovation projects); or, projects aim to understand the benefits to the student experience of particular learning approach, demonstrating an inclusive and strengths-based approach (for the evaluation & research theme).
- Projects are conducted in partnership between staff and students, and the partnership aspect is vital to the success/outcomes of the project.
- Projects can demonstrate why they are important to students, drawing on relevant existing data where possible.
- Projects align with one of the project themes.
- Project proposals have demonstrated how they intend to bring about longer-term impact beyond the funding period.
- Projects are feasible given the timescale (around 12 weeks), level of funding and resourcing available (team, resources available in the department etc.).
Interested in applying? Here are your next steps...
- Come along to one of our drop-in sessions to talk to us about your idea and ask any questions you have. Sessions are open to UCL students and staff. We also have a ChangeMakers FAQ.
- Download our which includes applications guidance and the application form.
- Look at the information, ideas and guidance for each theme to help you refine your project idea. We also have a resource bank packed full of tips, advice and guidance to help you on your project.
- Look at the case studies to find out what other ChangeMakers teams have done in the past as inspiration.
- Decide which deadline you are aiming to apply for and apply by emailing your to: changemakers@ucl.ac.uk.
Is there anything else I need to be aware of?
Reporting on your project
In exchange for project funding, we do require your team to report on what has happened as a result of undertaking the project. This is usually via a light-touch reporting form but with a further opportunity to write up a case study so that you can share what you achieved on your project more widely. We also welcome project teams to create short videos to share their projects with us and the community.
Ethics
If you intend to gather any data as part of your project, you need to make sure your this is being done ethically and in compliance with GDPR. The good news is, we can help you with that. Please take the time to read our ethics guidance if you think you might need to fall under our ethics approval for your project.