UCL Grand Challenges x ChangeMakers: Funding for Student-Staff Projects
27 January 2025
UCL Grand Challenges is partnering with UCL ChangeMakers to support projects aimed at integrating the Grand Challenges themes further into UCL’s education and student experience.

What are ChangeMakers projects?
UCL ChangeMakers has been running at UCL since 2014/15. It was initially set up to support student's ideas to enhance education at UCL. This has evolved to a student-staff partnership approach where students and staff collaborate as equal partners on projects that improve the learning and wider student experience at UCL.
Who are UCL Grand Challenges?
UCL Grand Challenges tackles complex global, national and local issues through interdisciplinary research and collaboration, harnessing UCL's diverse expertise to drive meaningful change.
In September 2023, the evolved Grand Challenges programme introduced five new themes, three up-and-running (Climate Crisis, Mental Health & Wellbeing, and Data-Empowered Societies), and two set to launch within the next two years (Inequalities, and Cultural Understanding). The programme's broadened scope aims to maximize the potential of UCL’s world-class students, equipping them with the skills and experience to work collaboratively on global issues both during their time at university and in their future careers.
UCL Grand Challenges is partnering with UCL ChangeMakers to support projects aimed at integrating the Grand Challenges themes further into UCL’s education and student experience.
What are the UCL Grand Challenge X ChangeMakers Projects?
UCL Grand Challenges has additional funding available this year to support at least 10 projects specifically focused on enhancing the UCL learning and student experience within one of the Grand Challenge themes of:
• Mental Health & Wellbeing
• Climate Crisis
• Data-Empowered Societies
Examples of Previous Staff-Student Projects Under UCL Grand Challenge Themes:
- Embedding sustainability into Political Science education at UCL
- AI Co-Creator projects
Projects must also have an impact on one of the two key ChangeMakers challenges:
- Connections (enhancement focused)
- Re-imagining Education (innovation focused)
Who can apply?
• Anyone within UCL can apply for project funding.
• We particularly welcome applications from staff and students who are underrepresented and/or identify as belonging to a marginalised group.
• Applications must be jointly made between staff and students to signal a partnership approach from the outset. We’d like to see at least two students and one member of staff in partnership, but the teams can be bigger than this.
If you have an idea in mind and are not sure if it would fall under the remit of a Grand Challenge theme, or you’re not sure who to work with in your department, please reach out to Simon Knowles.
When would the projects be carried out?
These student-staff partnership projects are small-scale, and should take around 12 weeks. Currently we hope to get project teams up and running by the end of March. Projects should be ending by early June.
What else do I need to know?
The UCL Grand Challenges X ChangeMakers programme will closely mirror the standard ChangeMakers process. However, it is important to note that we do not possess an ethics approval for the projects we fund. Given the limited timeframe available for project execution, we advise against collecting data through focus groups or surveys, as this would necessitate obtaining an individual ethics approval. Instead, we recommend that projects concentrate on effecting change and addressing the key challenges already identified.
Check out the available support for developing your application via the ChangeMakers Moodle page.
How do I apply?
Apply for up to £1,560 directly through the below link. Applications close 28 February 2025 and will be reviewed by a panel in early March. Results will be communicated mid-March.
Click here to apply
Application Deadline: Friday, 28 February 2025.