University of Northampton:
Call for Proposals for URB@N Scheme 2016-17
Institute of Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
University of Northampton
Introduction
The Institute of Learning and Teaching (ILT) is pleased to offer this opportunity to staff members from academic departments, faculties, partner colleges and central services to submit proposals to the URB@N Scheme.
If your answer to the following questions is ‘yes’, thenURB@Ncould be for you!
· Do you have a pedagogic question in your area of work that you are seeking to explore?
· Would you benefit from some extra resource to help you investigate this issue?
· Are you interested in a scheme that will pay a bursary of £500 to an UG student you supervise to undertake research?
This document tells you what you need to know about the scheme and how you can apply.
What is the URB@N scheme?
URB@Nstands for Undergraduate Research Bursaries at Northampton. It is a scheme offering opportunities for current undergraduate students of the University of Northampton to participate in a pedagogic research project taking place at the university. For staff, this can provide them with the valuable resource they might require in order to undertake such research. In addition, having student involvement in research can add valuable additional insight to the student voice that could not be easily accessed using other means. An URB@N project can provide authentic data with the potential to impact on teaching and learning practice and the student experience. For students, participating in real-world research through a scheme like this is a great way to generate valuable work experience and develop new skills. The premise behindURB@Nis facilitating opportunities for staff and students to work together in partnership to explore learning and teaching issues for the benefit of the student experience.
Each year there is a designated amount of funding allocated to the scheme. Staff are invited to propose projects that they want to supervise, and students are then invited to apply to be researchers on those projects. Upon full completion of their projects, successful students will receive a £500 bursary to support their involvement in the research project. In short,URB@Nprovides a way for students to ‘earn while they learn’ alongside their studies, gain extra credentials for their CV and make an important contribution to a piece of scholarly research.
How does URB@N work?
Staff members from academic departments, faculties, partner colleges and central services are invited to propose a research idea that they wish to investigate.The proposed research needs to be focused on investigating ways to improve the learning experience for students at Northampton (see some examples of previous projects in URB@N website).
We encourage staff to select their URB@N student prior to applying. How this is done will vary, but we suggest that staff promote their project in their faculties or departments, and invite expressions of interest from students they work or have contact with. We advise that staff interview interested students in order to assess theirsuitability for the project before making a final decision.
Any staff members who did not have a bursary student identified at the time of application will need to ensure that they have appointed their URB@N researcher by the end of December 2016.
Successful bursary students are expected to be involved in steering the direction of the project, and given plenty of opportunities to present their ideas and opinions about how the research is carried out. They should be involved in the different stages of the research: planning, data collection, data analysis, reporting and production of deliverables (e.g., a poster).
Priorities and conditions for funding
Staff are invited to propose a project idea that they would be seeking to investigate in their area of work. We are open to ideas, but envisage they could include investigations of topics such as:
· Student voice: making the transition to independent learning
· Student use of assessment feedback
· Student engagement with employability or changemaker initiatives
· Student use of technology-enhanced learning
· Student engagement in blended learning
· Learning to learn in a blended learning setting
· Active learning in HE
· Inclusivity in the curriculum
· The learning needs of international students
Projects that are purely discipline-focused cannot qualify. They must have a focus on learning and teaching and be explored through student voices. The projects should have clear outcomes (i.e. what will be disseminated to colleagues in the division, faculty, university and across the sector), and should be mutually beneficial for both the supervisor and the successful student. Each project should have a named academic leader who will act as supervisor.
URB@Nstudents will need to be demonstrably supported in gaining research skills (i.e. not be regarded as ‘free photocopiers’) and provided with opportunities to gain new skills. In their application, staff will therefore need to explain how they plan to support the student during the research, and how any required skills or techniques will be developed. Remember that the notion behindURB@Nis staff-student partnerships, with staff and students working together on learning and teaching projects. Therefore it is important for staff to outline how they will workwiththe student on the research, as a collaborative partnership.
The role that students will be expected to take during the research will need to be outlined, along with what the anticipated benefits will be for students in terms of their skills and career development.
Projects should be of a suitable scale (i.e. around 50 hours of student work) and be appropriately paced to fit in with students’ academic studies. Dissemination of results will be encouraged, and staff will need to outline how they anticipate using and sharing the findings from the project.
All of information outlined above needs to be included on theApplication Form provided in this document.
Please note the following regarding the URB@N application process:
1. As well as applying for new projects, we are also inviting staff to apply to continue a previous URB@N project. This will enable projects to be further developed - broadening the scale and likely impact of the work. Supervisors who wish to apply for this project extension can do so through the usual process, ensuring they also complete Section C of the application form to explain the rationale for the project continuation. Supervisors can choose to re-employ their previous URB@N student, or appoint a new one - giving reasons for their decision on the application form.
2. We encourage staff to select their URB@N student researcher prior to submitting an application (where possible). On the application form, there is the space for staff to identify who their student researcher will be should the bid be successful, and why they are deemed suitable for the role. Staff members who are not able to identify a student at this stage will need to briefly explain how they intend to recruit a suitable URB@N researcher if their application is successful.
How your proposal will be evaluated
On receipt of application forms, there is a review process involving a small team of staff involved with coordinating the URB@N scheme. Applications are scored (blind reviewed by two scorers) in terms of:
· the suitability of the project
· support that will be provided to students
· the alignment to the funding priorities
· the quality of involvements students will have in the project
· the potential benefits to students and the institution
As far as possible, attempts are made to ensure fair representation across faculties and departments in the university.
Once successful projects have been identified, details of these will be publicised on the URB@N website. This usually happens in mid-November 2016. At this stage, supervisors who do not yet have an URB@N researcher in place will need to recruit a suitable student. URB@N projects can only run if there are suitable students to take up the allocated bursary place, and all URB@N students need to be in place by the end of December 2016.We encourage staff to interview potential bursary students to assess their suitability for the project before making a final decision.
How much funding is there?
It is usually the case that a research project will be allocated one bursary student to work on it. Each student bursary is worth £500. All of this money will be paid to the students directly to compensate for their time and effort and should not be used for other purposes. Any additional funding required for the research to be conducted (such as travel, photocopying, materials, cost of poster production) should be met by local faculty or departmental budgets.
Each year there are opportunities to apply for a 'double bursary' (meaning that 2 student researchers could be recruited for the same project). This option is included on the application form, and reviewers will look for a strong rationale for why the additional resource will be needed and what additional benefits it will serve.
Students will receive their bursary payment in a lump sum at the end of the project (usually in June/July 2017) on successful completion of agreed tasks, activities and deliverables at each stage. Supervisors will be expected to monitor students’ engagement in the scheme and report as to whether the required work has been undertaken satisfactorily.
What would I be expected to do as a supervisor?
The academic supervisor should provide ongoing supervision and guidance to the student throughout the course of the project. If any relevant training for various aspects of the project is required, supervisors should also provide or arrange this for the student. Supervision meetings with the student should be arranged at regular intervals to discuss progress, and in between these meetings students should be given agreed tasks to do. Supervisors and students should be working together in collaboration on the research, so there should be opportunities for students to have input into decisions relating to the project, and what direction it takes.
At the end of the project, students and supervisors will be invited to present a poster of the research ata poster presentation event at the University’s Learning and Teaching Conferencetaking place in May 2017.
The research will begin in January 2017, and run until mid-May 2017. During this time we expect that students would need to devote between 10 and 15 hours a week to the project – totalling about 50 hours of work. It is difficult to give exact time estimations because individuals work at different paces, but it is important that supervisors feel that they would be able to allow adequate time to support the student appropriately for the duration of the project. It is also important that supervisors are mindful of students’ other study commitments when the research is being planned and conducted, and take necessary measures to ensure that students are not over-burdened.
Are there any restrictions?
Staff members from academic departments, faculties, partner colleges and central services with a learning support or student support function can apply to supervise a project. It would be advisable if staff members had experience of conducting research, and of supervising student projects.
Students participating in the scheme must be current undergraduates studying at the University of Northampton. There is no academic credit associated with participation in the scheme and students are unable to use any of the work produced or data collected for any other academic purpose.
How to submit your proposal
Completed applications should be sent by e-mail to by Monday 17th October 2016, 23:59pm.
URB@N Supervisor Application Form 2016/17
We encourage you to be brief but specific on the application form.
Section A: Applicant information
Faculty/Department/Partner College:Name of lead supervisor/project leader:
E-mail address:
Name of any additional staff members who will be involved in supervising the student (if applicable):
Section B: Project information
Project title:What is the project about? Please provide a brief overview of the aims and scope of the proposed project.
Why is this project needed? Please detail the rationale driving the project.
What are the likely outcomes of the project and how will those outcomes benefit the course/department/faculty/university?
How do you anticipate disseminating findings from the project? (both internally and externally – where appropriate)
Is this an extension/continuation of a previous URB@N project? YES NO
(If YES, please complete Sections C and D. If NO, please proceed directly to Section D)
Section C: Continuation projects
(This section only needs to be completed if you are applying for an extension/follow-up of a previous URB@N project)
What has been achieved on the project so far? Please provide links to the earlier project where available.What added value will be achieved by further developing the project this year?
Will you be re-employing the same URB@N student? * YES * NO
Please briefly explain the rationale for this decision:
Section D: Your URB@N Student(s)
Who will your URB@N student be, should your application be successful?Student name:
Student number:
Programme of study:
Year:
E-mail address:
(Please state ‘Unknown’ if you do not currently have a student researcher in place for the project)
How and why did you select this student to be the URB@N researcher on this project?
If you DO NOT currently have an URB@N student lined up for the project, please outline briefly how you intend to find and select a suitable UG student if your application is successful.
What will the URB@N student’s main role be in the research project? Describe the main tasks and responsibilities you will expect them to have, and what their involvement will be in the various aspects of the project.
What support will be provided to the student to help them complete their part of the project? (in terms of supervision, training etc.)
What will the student get out of the project? (in terms of knowledge, skills, experience)
Some projects can be considered for a larger allocation of funding by providing two URB@N student bursary places rather than one. If you would like to be considered for this additional bursary place please tick here:
What will your bigger project deliver that a standard URB@N one would not? An additional value for money statement should be made if you wish to be considered for the increased allocation.
Signature of support from Dean/Deputy Dean (an e-mail confirmation from the Dean or Deputy Dean to show support of the application is also acceptable):
Completed applications should be e-mailed to Ming Nie () by Monday the 17th October 2016, 23:59pm.