iEarth's seed project is an initiative and a motivation to support the development of teaching and learning collaboration across departments and universities, to engage students in improving their learning environment, to collect data, to develop teaching and learning in geosciences and to promote SoTL (Research approach to own teaching / "Scholarship of Teaching and Learning").

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Projects can apply for funding of up to NOK 150 000,-

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If a larger budget is needed to carry out the project, iEarth can help find alternative solutions for financing. The projects have a 1-year run, and if necessary, projects can apply for further funding.

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Guidelines can be found here:

iEarth Seed Projects 2023

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Apply using this template:

iEarth Seed Projects Application form

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Template for final report:

Template for iEarth short papers

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Submit application electronically here.

Call for projects - communication and time frame

We are now having an open call where applicants can submit their seed projects all year around and the applications will be evaluated twice a year.  It is possible to apply for the same project more than once, also if the project has received funding before. Application submission must be done using the attached form and submission will be done electronically through skjemaker.

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• Start of open calls: 31.03.2023
• Open call – Applicants can submit their seed project continuously throughout the year.
• Funding decision (with feedback) will be evaluated in March and September or early if a large amount of applications are received.
• Start of project: As soon as possible after receiving funding.
• Deadline for finished seed projects is 1 year after funding decision.
• To apply, use attached form and submit it through skjemaker.

Who can apply?

Faculties, postdocs, fellows and students from geoscience institutions. Lecturers and students at Norwegian institutes outside iEarth can also apply for funding, subject to existing collaboration with colleagues at the iEarth institutions.

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What can you apply for?

See iEarth's Center Plan for examples. We encourage applicants to contact focus area managers if they are particularly interested in topics covered by the five focus areas in iEarth. Examples of project themes include, but are not limited to:

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• Development of new courses based on active learning and associated learning approaches.
• Development of new student activities.
• Development of new teaching methods and materials.
• Teaching problems related to closure during the covid-19 pandemic.
• Activities that improve the students' learning environment.
• Testing new teaching methods and materials.
• Investigations of learning objectives (SoTL).
• Development of software that can be used in existing courses.
• Development of visual evaluation tools.
• Production of instructional videos.

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Funding can be requested for teachers who temporarily need to hire replacements (or teaching assistants) for their teaching to work on such projects. Project funds may also include conference fees to attend SOTL conferences.

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iEarth funding does not cover:

• Teaching leave
• Fieldwork or excursions
• Equipment

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iEarth judging committee and evaluation

The assessment committee consists of the appointed education chairs from each iEarth institution, a committee member with a formal background in educational research, the iEarth center manager, network coordinator and one student representative. The committee publishes a list of funded projects within 6 weeks of the application deadline. The project can receive full or partial funding. iEarth's network coordinator will give feedback to applicants via e-mail and funded projects will be announced on www.iearth.no.

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In the event of potential conflicts of interest within the committee, the relevant member will be excluded from the evaluation of the relevant project.

Project evaluation criteria

The funded projects must:

• Be aligned with the iEarth vision.
• Contribute to one or more of the five iEarth Focus Areas, as specified in the action plan.
• Include a plan for communicating, sharing, and/or distribute the results from the project.

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The project will be given priority if it includes:

• Co-creation with students.
• Involvement of colleagues.
• Involves several institutions (both iEarth partner institutions and others).
• A communication and dissemination plan (larger projects should also, if possible, include a plan for publishing a peer-reviewed article in an educational journal or SoTL conference).

Project reporting and dissemination

It is a requirement that all funded projects will benefit the iEarth community and that it complies with DIKU's plan for SFUs and the contract between iEarth and DIKU.

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In addition to sharing and disseminating project results, funded projects must submit:

• a short report (1-5 pages) according to the IMRAD framework. The report will be included in the iEarth educational publication series and made available at www.iearth.no. By including the report in the publication series, it can be cited, and authors can refer to the publication in their CV. A report template is available at www.iearth.no together with examples from other projects .
• one page of popular science text about your project with figures and pictures. The text will be published on our webpage, newsletter and/or on our social media platforms.
• a brief summary of the budget and accounting of your expenses with a text explaining how the funds were spent. Were changes made from the original budget? If so, why?

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The projects that receive funding from iEarth require a dissemination strategy and here are some examples of dissemination that can be included in this strategy:

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• Workshop or presentation at the GeoLearning Forum
• Presentation or poster at other relevant conferences
• Workshops or presentations at the institutes for/with students
• Information, results and findings shared at www.iearth.no
• Blog post at www.iearth.no
• Scientific publishing

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Submit application