What are the postgraduate strategic grants?
The grants seek to support innovative and exciting projects that align with individual faculty strategies, as well as the broader UTS 2027 vision.
The Program offers applicants the opportunity to;
- Develop short course formats for UTS Open;
- Engage in market research to explore new postgraduate coursework opportunities;
- Promote innovative course development to enhance the postgraduate student experience.
The focus in this strategic funding round is on:
- New interdisciplinary PG thinking: ideas that bring existing elements together in new ways or otherwise break traditional disciplinary silo boundaries;
- PG learning projects that specifically relate to a 2027 priority area: Social justice and accessibility; Sustainability; Indigenous education;
- New learning products that fit to a faculty new business line:
Core PG.F, Open/Short, Online, Cross-discipline, Corporate, Transnational, Lifelong, Experience.
Successful grant applicants/teams are eligible to receive up to $30,000 for work to be undertaken between March 2019 – June 2019. All projects should be complete by 30 June 2019, and all funds must be expended by 31 December 2019.
Who can apply?
The Program is available to all faculties and units who host UTS curriculum-based courses (i.e. courses that are approved through CAC (Courses Accreditation Committee).
Why should I apply?
In 2018, 17 academics across nine faculties and units received these grants to create dynamic new course content in collaboration with the PG.f team, or to conduct valuable market research to help inform upcoming course design – some even held focus group days to engage industry experts and other key stakeholders.
In FASS, funding was used to support the accelerated development of several new flagship postgraduate courses in Media Practice and Strategic Communication, alongside a unique UTS Open offering in Public History. With the help of additional resources funded by the Program, these courses will be on offer from Autumn 2019.
In Health, Professor Andrew Hayen and his team used the funding to conduct market research around the customer journey and demand for postgraduate study in public health at UTS. This was facilitated by Ariel Spigelman, Market Research & Insights Manager, MCU.
Thanks to the funding, Andrew has said his team “have been able to conduct fairly extensive market research that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. This allowed us to understand the needs of prospective and current students and industry about what they want from a modern Master of Public Health degree, and how to make the UTS offering distinctive and relevant”. Andrew further noted that although “undertaking such a project is time-consuming, it is worthwhile in the end… giving academics the opportunity, time and funding to reinvent their programs is vitally important for UTS to be a leader in postgraduate education.”
Funding from last year also contributed to the design and development of a new Master of High-Performance Sport. You can read more on the design of this course here.
How do I apply?
Applications for the 2019 Strategic Funding Program have closed.
If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Rosie Edwards, Project Officer, rosemary.edwards@uts.edu.au.