Education Development Fund

Individual Members are invited to apply for small grants to fund either:

a) relevant science promotion initiatives or

b) to support developments likely to lead to an improvement in the teaching of any aspect of microbiology relevant to secondary or tertiary (including postgraduate) education in the UK.

Applications are now invited for either category of award.

NB Staff employed in schools that are currently paid-up Corporate School Members of the SGM should apply to the Microbiology in Schools Fund.

Rules

1. Applicants must be members of the Society, currently residing in the UK or Republic of Ireland.
   
   
2. Practical Teaching Aid Awards
   • Applicants may seek support, normally within the range £200-£3500, for:
     
     
     1. Purchase of consumable materials, but not capital equipment.
     2. Short-term assistance, e.g. vacation employment of an undergraduate, or exceptionally a postgraduate after expiry of a studentship.
        
   • Examples of projects which might be funded include the provision of teaching materials (e.g. videos, slides, posters), the development of reliable, novel practical exercises, new approaches to teaching/learning familiar concepts (e.g. computer simulations or tutorials) or any other appropriate aspect. It is not intended that the Fund should subsidise normal departmental teaching practices; the Society wishes to encourage innovation.
     
   • Successful applicants will normally be required to make the results of their work available to Society members, within 18 months of the award being made. This will include a presentation at a Society meeting and publication of an article in Microbiology Today. Physical materials, whether off-prints, videos, slides, computer programs, microbial strains or in other forms, should be readily available to Society members either free or on low-cost loan or purchase for a period of at least five years after termination of the project.
     
   • The Society would encourage commercial or other dissemination of the results of the project to a wider public. All Intellectual Property Rights, including copyright and design rights, in any materials produced as a result of the grant will be vested in the Society.
     
3. Public Engagement with Microbiology (PEM) Awards
   • Applicants may seek funding of no more than £1000 for small projects to promote public engagement with microbiology. These might include talks, workshops, demonstrations, posters, leaflets, broadcasts, activities at science festivals and audio-visual or computer-based packages.
     
   • Applicants must provide a detailed description of the proposed initiative, which it is anticipated will take place in the year of application, full costings and evidence of any collaborations or other sponsorship.
     
   • Successful applicants must be submit a report of the activity to the Society within 3 months of the completion of the project. This should take the form of an article for publication in the Going Public section of Microbiology Today.  A copy of the results of the assessment exercise (a simple questionnaire or summary of public comments on the event will suffice) should also be provided.

Application forms

Forms available here for teaching aid or PEM awards

The is no closing date for receipt of applications which will be considered on a first come, first served basis during the period 1 January - 31 December.

Last modified 26 August 2010