Brainstorming

Funding of the ALe

Brainstorming
Image: Wavebreak Media

Good teaching is of central importance at the University of Jena. The Academy for Teaching Development underlines the importance of teaching for the University by announcing funding lines that contribute to the further development and improvement of teaching at our University. These are intended to provide the additional resources necessary to promote teaching on a project or event basis.

The ALe thus supports the commitment of teachers and students who are committed to the high quality of university teaching. The principles of good (digital) teaching at the University of Jena form the basis for the teaching projects to be funded. When selecting the teaching projects to be funded, the ALe expert committee also takes into account strategic and current challenges in teaching, such as digitalisation, democracy building, internationalisation, interdisciplinarity, sustainability and inclusion.

We invite all University members interested in good teaching to participate in the Academy's calls for proposals that are relevant to them!

Which teaching projects can be funded?

The ALe advertises the funding lines mentioned below.
You may find it useful to see the calls for proposals for the individual funding lines, which give you more information about the type of teaching-related projects that can be funded:

  • Innovation in Teaching

    The Academy for Teaching Development promotes teachers who are committed to the high quality of academic teaching at our University. That is why the funding line ‘Innovation in Teaching’ is made available to all full-time employees of the University who are involved in teaching. Projects to be funded are those which aim at:

    • carrying out out an innovative teaching concept for the first time;
    • expanding successfully implemented department-specific teaching concepts to other departments;
    • integrating successfully tested innovative teaching concepts into the curriculum in the long term.

    In the present funding line, projects may be funded with up to €15,000.
    The funds granted may be used for the following expenses:

    • temporary increase of working hours for a teaching associate (based on the collective agreement TV-L) to carry out the teaching project;
    • fixed-term employment of graduate assistants and student assistants or tutors to support the teaching project;
    • project-based material resources if they are indispensable for the implementation of the specific teaching project and are stated in the proposal accordingly;
    • Conceptually based teaching assignments
    • costs for the documentation and publication of project-specific results, in particular regarding the influence of the innovative teaching project and the experiences gained in the project.

    The criteria, which are given special consideration when assessing the proposals, are based on the objectives of the funding line:

    • Innovation: The project to be funded should be innovative. This may refer to the further development of established teaching forms and to the testing of new teaching concepts. It also implies putting a new content-related emphasis on the teaching.
    • Sustainability: Firstly, the project may be of experimental nature. Provided the experiment is successful, the sustainability of the teaching innovation should, however, be guaranteed. Sustainability may be achieved, for instance, by providing a stable financial concept for the continuation of the project, through changes within the study programme, or through the development of re-usable teaching formats or teaching materials that can be used in the long term.
    • Transferability: After the project phase / test phase, it should be possible to transfer the project to a larger or different group of participants, or to other departments. Furthermore, the project should advance teaching within the department or beyond.

    Would you like to apply for funding for your teaching project?

    Please submit your complete application documents according to the call for applications via the Dean's Office/the Dean for Studtent Affairs! Further information on the application procedure can be found here.

  • Discussion about Development in the Faculties

    The Academy for Teaching Development supports faculties in strengthening and further developing subject-specific academic teaching. The funding line Discussion about Development in the Faculties therefore sets a focus on the subject-specific exchange on teaching and learning at the respective faculty. Public conferences, internal conferences, or other dialogue-based forms are eligible for funding. This creates the opportunity to:

    • Initiate the further development of faculty-specific curricula,
    • Addressing the exchange on the principles of good teaching,
    • Test new exchange formats between teachers and students.

    In this funding line, individual projects may be funded with up to €2,500 each. Among many other measures, the funds granted may be used, for instance, for the following event-related measures:

    • expenses for student and graduate assistants;
    • costs for speakers, moderators;
    • costs for event materials;
    • expenses for documenting and publishing project-specific results and findings.

    Would you like to apply for funding for your teaching project?

    Please submit your complete application documents according to the call for applications via the Dean's Office/the Dean for Studtent Affairs! Further information on the application procedure can be found here.

  • Student Initiatives

    The Academy for Teaching Development supports students in strengthening and further developing subject-specific academic teaching. The funding line ‘Student Initiatives’ provides special funding for student projects that encourage the subject-specific or interdisciplinary exchange related to teaching or that focus on the promotion of academic teaching and learning.

    In this funding line, individual projects may be funded with up to €2,500 each.
    The funds granted may be used for the following expenses:

    • personnel costs for student assistants or tutors;
    • fees for speakers, moderators;
    • costs for event materials;
    • expenses for documenting and publishing project-related results and findings.

    All enrolled students are eligible to apply for funding for a student initiative.

    When assessing the proposals, the following criteria are taken into account in particular:

    • The project or event is planned and carried out by students of the University of Jena.
    • The project deals with a current problem related to subject-specific learning.
    • The project encourages the improvement of teaching and/or learning methods.

    Would you like to apply for funding for your project?

    Please submit your complete application documents according to the call for applications via the Dean's Office/the Dean for Studtent Affairs! Further information on the application procedure can be found here.

  • Student Initiatives PLUS (in cooperation with the Ernst-Abbe-Stiftung)

    In cooperation with the Ernst-Abbe-Stiftung, the Academy for Teaching Development supports the commitment of students in the area of teaching and learning at Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Individual projects organized by students, which serve the purpose of subject-related or interdisciplinary exchange on topics regarding teaching and learning, or which focus on the promotion of academic learning and teaching, are to receive special funding.

    In this funding line, individual projects may be funded with up to €2,500 each.
    The funds granted may be used for the following expenses:

    • expenses for student assistants or tutors;
    • fees for speakers, moderators;
    • costs related to events;
    • expenses for documenting and publishing project-related results and findings.

    All enrolled students are eligible to apply for funding for a student initiative.

    When assessing the proposals, the following criteria are taken into account in particular:

    • The project or event is planned and carried out by students of the University of Jena.
    • The project supports students’ learning also beyond study content in the narrow sense.
    • The project is an existing student initiative that fulfils some of the criteria mentioned above.

    Would you like to apply for funding for your project?

    Please submit your complete application documents according to the call for applications via the Dean's Office/the Dean for Studtent Affairs! Further information on the application procedure can be found here.

When and how is it possible to apply for funding?

When?

Applications can be submitted to the Academey of Teaching Development only via the Dean's Office (usually the Dean for Student Affairs) of your faculty by 15 March (all funding lines listed above) and 15 September (funding lines "Development Dialogue in the Faculties", "Student Initiatives" and "Student Initiatives PLUS"). Therefore, please submit your application to the Dean's Office (in many cases to the Dean for Student Affairs) by the internal faculty deadline.

 
Information on the internal faculty deadlines You will  find below or you can obtain it from the dean's office (usually from the Dean for Student Affairs) of your faculty.

Internal
faculty
deadlines
all 
funding lines listed above

funding lines
"Discussion about Development in the Faculties"
"Student Initiatives"
"Student Initiatives PLUS"

  • all faculties
15. February 15. August

 

How?

Information on the necessary application documents can be found in the call for the respective funding line. The calls for proposals for the individual funding lines, corresponding financial requirement calculation aids and the application form can be found in the download area of this page.

Applications should preferably be in German or, if applicable, in English.

Information

To use all the functions of the documents in the download area, download them first and do not edit them in the browser.

Academy for Teaching Development - Office

Fürstengraben 1
07743 Jena

  1. Hüfner, Katja, Dr Managing Director Vizepräsidentin für Studium und Lehre
    +49 3641 9-401210

    Universitätshauptgebäude
    Fürstengraben 1
    07743 Jena

    Dr. Katja Hüfner
    Image: Anne Günther (University of Jena)
  2. Möhrstädt, Nora, Dr Project consulting and coordination Vizepräsidentin für Studium und Lehre
    +49 3641 9-401211

    Universitätshauptgebäude, Room 314
    Fürstengraben 1
    07743 Jena