What are the Fellowships?

The Fellowships in Teaching & Academic Development are part of an institutional development structure to encourage a greater number of faculty to focus on advancing university-wide enhancement in teaching and learning through strategic policy/practice-based research. The fellowships offer a mechanism to recognise and reward individuals for these contributions.  Fellows are selected through a competitive process.

The fellowship scheme aims to identify and develop faculty with both the pedagogic expertise and the leadership capacity to effect transformational change in teaching, learning and assessment practices both in discipline-specific areas and thematically, across the institution.

The work of the Fellows in Teaching and Academic Development is focused in areas of strategic importance to the university and is informed by a scholarly approach to the enhancement of teaching and learning and UCD’s curricular structures and practices. Fellowship activities are informed by international research and experts in the field.

For detailed information on the current fellowships call, please see the UCD Fellowships Call 2023-2025.

Purposes of the Fellowships

The purposes of the Fellowships programme are:

• To provide opportunities for faculty to participate actively in advancing University-wide enhancement in teaching and learning through strategic policy/practice based research.
• To develop the leadership potential of faculty and their capacity to act as catalysts in the improvement of teaching and learning practices in their own School and College and thematically across the University.
• To support faculty in their development of pedagogic research expertise, disseminating their findings both within the University community and externally through national bodies and international research interest groups.

Fellowship Details

Fellowship appointments shall be for a period of 24 months, commencing in January 2024 and ending in December 2025. Up to ten Fellowships will be awarded, thereby allowing for the formation of up to three Fellowship research teams to address the themes:

• Embedding Employability in the Curriculum through Work-Integrated Learning
• Engagement through Partnership: Students as Partners in Teaching & Learning

Selection of Fellows will be by competition involving a Fellowship Selection Panel comprised of individuals with a range of experiences and expertise including: strategy, policy, pedagogy and prior Fellowship experience.

Appointed Fellows will be expected to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary team to develop a university-wide project (Fellowship Project) addressing one or other of the fellowship themes. The themes are outlined in further detail in the UCD Fellowships Call 2023-2025.

Funding

A fund of €10,000 will be available to support the Fellowship Project; additionally each Fellow will receive an individual bursary of €8,000.

Conditions

Appointed Fellows will be expected to participate in a team project to completion, resulting in the production of a Fellowship Report of evidence-based findings and recommendations which can inform institutional policy, strategy and good practice resources. It is expected that the fellows will publish the project outcomes in relevant peer-reviewed journals and conference papers. The Fellowship Advisory Board, chaired by the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, will provide oversight and advice throughout the Fellowship programme. All fellows will participate in an Induction phase and will be offered further development sessions as required. Fellows will actively participate and contribute to relevant T&L fora, seminars and symposia in UCD.  Fellows will report on the expenditure of their bursaries to the Fellowship Advisory Board.

Eligibility

The Fellowship scheme is open to UCD faculty members (Lecturer/Assistant Professor; Associate Professor; Professor; Full Professor) who hold an employment contract for the duration of the Fellowship award plus one year, i.e. to December 2026. The additional year is to allow for full dissemination of Fellowship project outputs.

Adjudication Criteria

Selection criteria will focus on evidence of:

• Significant experience and excellence in teaching practice.
• Evidence of leadership in teaching and learning within own disciplinary area and/or in the University community or externally.
• Track record of research publication in own discipline and familiarity with a range of research methodologies.
• Pedagogic expertise and evidence of development of new approaches to teaching and learning.
• Evidence of robust evaluation of own teaching and learning innovations, or appropriate pedagogic research.
• Capacity to work collaboratively, along with evidence of influencing skills and leading others in change.
• A good understanding of and prior engagement with your preferred fellowship theme.

Selection Panel

Professor Marie Clarke, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Office of the Registrar (Chair)
Professor Hugh Campbell, UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy 
Ms Áine Galvin, Director, UCD Teaching & Learning 
Ms Hannah Kelly, Programme Manager, National Student Engagement Programme (NStEP)
Professor Martyn Kingsbury, Director of the Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship, Imperial College London
Associate Professor James Matthews, School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science

Application Procedure

Interested faculty are invited to complete the UCD Fellowships Application Form 2023-25 which should be accompanied by two statements of support, at least one of which should be from the Head of School. Before completing the application form, candidates should read the UCD Fellowships Call 2023-2025.

Completed applications and statements of support should be submitted to tl@ucd.ie by 5pm on Friday 27 October 2023.

The applications and statements of support will be judged by the Fellowship Selection Panel. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview. 

Guidelines for Statements of Support

Prospective applicants should provide a copy of their completed application form to their nominators. Having read the application, nominators are asked to write a statement in its support.  It would be especially useful if the support statement could address the following areas:

1. The applicant’s contribution to the development of teaching excellence within the school or college.
2. The applicant’s demonstrable capacity to lead a successful project and to work collaboratively with peers.
3. The applicant’s abilities to lead and influence peers in the development of new approaches to teaching and learning, educational innovation and change.
4. A commentary on the fit between the applicant preferred fellowship theme and the teaching enhancement priorities of the school/college.

Nominators should forward their support statements to tl@ucd.ie by 5pm on 27 October 2023.