Centre for Scholarship and Innovation
15th January 2020
Welcome to the 16th eSTEeM call for projects. As in previous calls we are interested in supporting individuals and groups of scholars at the OU and we would like to receive both:
If you are seeking to gain recognition as a HEA Fellow or Senior Fellow, a completed eSTEeM project can be helpful to support your claim for professional recognition against the UK Professional Standards Framework via Applaud.
We are continuing to prioritise projects which actively involve students as scholarly co-collaborators/co-investigators on the project team and not merely as the subjects of study. We are happy to provide guidance on how exactly this might be achieved in the context of your project plan.
The following list of priority areas are of strategic importance and may help you in focusing your project proposal.
1. Widening access and success
Given the importance of this sector wide issue, we would like to encourage projects which investigate issues around registration, completion and attainment in respect of students with identified characteristics such as:
2. Learning design
3. Innovations in STEM
4. Learning Communities
The significance of learning communities in open and distance STEM education, how such communities may be developed and sustained and what impact vibrant communities can have on retention and progression of students.
5. Supporting students
6. Research-informed teaching
We are interested in projects which investigate processes which lead to research-informed teaching and the impact this has on student perceptions of the Faculty and wider university.
Please note that this list does not preclude you from suggesting other projects that you feel would fit within the eSTEeM portfolio. For example, we are aware that certain areas of the STEM curriculum present specific accessibility and/or participation issues and we are happy to receive projects in these areas.
Sign-off procedure for proposals
Please note that all proposals now need to be reviewed/endorsed by your School Scholarship Lead, in addition to your time allocation being approved by your HoS, before submission to eSTEeM. Therefore, please ensure that you contact your respective Scholarship Lead as soon as possible, and well in advance of the submission deadline, to allow them sufficient time to review the proposal.
School |
Scholarship Lead |
C&C |
Shailey Minocha |
E&I |
Daphne Chang |
EEES |
Sarah Davies |
KMi |
Trevor Collins |
LHCS |
Duncan Banks |
M&S |
Rachel Hilliam |
SPS |
Jimena Gorfinkiel/Laura Alexander |
Pre-bidding Workshop, 27th January, 14.00-15.30, CMR 11
We will be holding a pre-bidding workshop to assist colleagues with the preparation of an eSTEeM project proposal and discuss any project ideas that you may have. The workshop will take place on Monday 27th January, 14.00-15.30 in CMR 11 and will be particularly useful for those who have not submitted an eSTEeM proposal previously. Please confirm your attendance, either in person or remotely, by visiting the registration page by 12pm on Friday 24th January.
Further details
The estimated duration of projects is around 12-18 months with each team member expected to commit a minimum of 10 days. The average budget for an eSTEeM project is around £5k but requests must be commensurate with the scale and scope of the project.
If you would like to register your interest in joining a project group, please email esteem@open.ac.uk indicating which area you are interested in and why. Alternatively, if you already have a worked-up proposal in mind then please download the current project proposal form by visiting the links below.
To assist you in preparing your proposal, please do not forget to view existing and previous eSTEeM projects and final reports. Please also visit the searchable Scholarship Exchange which is the University’s repository of scholarship projects and resources.
The deadline for expressions of interest and submitting proposals is 17.00 on Friday 28th February 2020.
If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to receiving your proposals.