Socially responsive course development grants 2021

Dear colleagues

COVID-19 offers a unique opportunity to deepen our commitment to society through our teaching and research and service. As a university we have committed ourselves to continue with the core project of teaching and learning, more recently strongly driven through Vision 2030 – unleashing human potential for a fair and just society. Part of this is to provide students with a socially engaged educational experience. Given these imperatives, we need to find ways to use our teaching and research to engage with society, albeit in different ways where needed.

It is against this backdrop that we invite applications for socially responsive teaching and learning course development grants. At the University of Cape Town (UCT) social responsiveness (SR) is an umbrella concept referring to all forms of engagement – teaching, research and service – with external non-academic constituencies (SR Policy Framework 2008; 2012). We need to embed social responsiveness into teaching and learning in order to graduate students who are able to deal not only with technical complexity, but with social complexity as well.

Four grants of R10 000 each are available to develop, design or revise a course that meets the criteria outlined in the application form. For purposes of this grant, these courses need to be a part of the formal curriculum. See the application form.

Courses that meet the criteria could be offered in 2022 (revised or redesigned current courses) or in 2023 (if it’s a new course that needs to go through faculty processes). It is intended that these are seed funds, with funding from the department or faculty in subsequent years. Applicants would need to outline their motivations for their use of funds in the application.

The Teaching Grants Award Sub-Committee, which reports to the Senate Teaching and Learning Committee, will oversee the grant application and selection process.

Please note the following process if you wish to submit an application:

1. Attend an optional briefing session on Wednesday, 11 August from 12:30 to 14:00 (MS Team meeting) where the criteria for selection of successful applications will be discussed. It is highly recommended that prospective grantees attend this session.
2. Submit the final application by Monday, 6 September. Grantees will be notified before the middle of October via a letter from myself.

No late applications will be accepted. For any questions or queries, feel free to email Prince.Qwaka@uct.ac.za.

• Download the application form.

Sincerely

Associate Professor Lis Lange
Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements