King’s College London has opened applications for its newly launched Education Innovation Fund, inviting staff to propose bold projects that will reshape teaching and learning across the university. Aimed at supporting creative, evidence-based approaches to education, the fund will back initiatives that enhance student experience, foster inclusive pedagogy, and make effective use of digital tools and emerging technologies. As higher education continues to navigate rapid change-from shifting student expectations to advances in AI-the new scheme signals King’s commitment to investing in fresh ideas that can be scaled and sustained across its faculties.
Funding priorities and strategic aims of the Education Innovation Fund at Kings College London
At the heart of this year’s call is a commitment to back bold, evidence-informed ideas that can demonstrably improve the student learning experience across King’s. Projects that harness digital pedagogy, foster inclusive and anti-racist teaching, or open up authentic, real-world learning opportunities are notably encouraged. Priority will be given to initiatives that are scalable across departments,grounded in data or scholarship of teaching and learning,and co-created with students. Proposals should clearly show how they will enhance engagement, close attainment gaps and support student success, not just within a single module but across programmes and faculties.
- Student partnership: projects designed and delivered with students, not just for them.
- Inclusive design: curricula and assessments that work for diverse learners.
- Digital innovation: creative use of technology to deepen learning, not simply digitise it.
- Interdisciplinary reach: collaborations that bridge faculties and professional services.
- Sustainable impact: outputs that can be reused, adapted and embedded long-term.
| Funding Strand | Typical Focus | Indicative Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Seed Projects | Piloting new teaching ideas in a single module or program | Short-term, small teams |
| Scaling & Spread | Extending proven innovations across departments or faculties | Medium-term, cross-school |
| Strategic Collaborations | College-wide initiatives aligned with institutional education priorities | Larger, multi-stakeholder |
Eligibility criteria timelines and how to craft a competitive application
Applicants are expected to have a clearly demonstrable link to King’s teaching or learning provision, whether as academic staff, professional services, or student partners working under staff supervision. Projects must be rooted in evidence-informed pedagogy, show a feasible plan for evaluating impact, and align with faculty or institutional education priorities such as inclusive curriculum design, authentic assessment, or technology-enhanced learning. Proposals that involve cross-departmental collaboration or build on prior small-scale pilots are particularly encouraged. Keep in mind that funding cannot cover standard departmental running costs or duplicate existing provision without a clear rationale for enhancement.
- Who can apply: King’s staff and staff-student partnerships with a designated project lead
- Project scope: Clearly defined, achievable within the funding period, and scalable or transferable
- Budget use: Obvious, realistic and focused on innovation, evaluation and dissemination
- Ethics and data: Compliance with relevant ethics approvals and data protection requirements
| Stage | Key Date | What Reviewers Look For |
|---|---|---|
| Call opens | Early May | Initial concept fit with fund priorities |
| Q&A sessions | Mid May | Refinement of aims and methods |
| Submission deadline | Mid June | Clarity, feasibility, and measurable outcomes |
| Panel review | Late June | Innovation, inclusivity, and value for money |
| Decisions issued | Early July | Balanced portfolio across disciplines |
To stand out in a competitive field, frame your idea around a sharply defined educational challenge, supported by brief references to current literature or internal data, and articulate what will change for students and staff by the end of the project. Use accessible language, specify roles and responsibilities across the team, and build in mechanisms for student voice at every stage. Strong applications outline a realistic timeline with milestones, factor in risk management, and commit to sharing findings across King’s through workshops, digital resources or scholarly outputs. Before submitting, ask a colleague outside your discipline to review for clarity and coherence; panels often favour proposals that communicate complex ideas with precision rather than jargon.
Designing impactful teaching innovation projects that meet student and institutional needs
Triumphant proposals start with a sharp understanding of who the intervention is for and why it matters now. At King’s, this means grounding every idea in real student journeys, not abstract models. Applicants are encouraged to draw on live data – such as assessment outcomes, module evaluation comments, or NSS themes – and to combine these with student voice through focus groups, co-design workshops or short revelation sprints. Strong projects typically align with at least one strategic priority, such as: widening participation, inclusive assessment, digital change, or employability. They also make clear how students will be involved not just as participants but as partners in shaping, testing and refining the innovation.
Institutionally, the most compelling bids demonstrate a credible route from small-scale trial to wider adoption, showing how the work can inform policy, curriculum design or staff development. This often means planning for replicability and scalability from the outset, including simple mechanisms to share insight across departments, schools and professional services. When designing their project, applicants may wish to consider:
- Clarity of purpose – a focused problem statement backed by evidence.
- Equity and inclusion – benefits for diverse cohorts, including underrepresented groups.
- Feasibility – realistic timelines, roles and resource needs.
- Evaluation – measurable indicators of change for students and staff.
- Legacy – outputs that others at King’s can adapt or adopt.
| Focus Area | Example Innovation | Intended Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment | Authentic, workplace-style briefs | Stronger links to real-world practice |
| Belonging | Peer-led transition programmes | Smoother adjustment to new study environments |
| Digital Learning | Interactive, analytics-informed modules | More responsive and personalised learning journeys |
| Skills | Co-curricular micro-credentials | Visible, stackable skills for employability |
Measuring outcomes evaluation strategies and sustainability planning for funded initiatives
Successful proposals will demonstrate a clear logic for how change will be tracked from launch to legacy. Applicants are encouraged to outline specific, measurable indicators that go beyond attendance numbers or satisfaction scores, showing instead how teaching practice, student experience and academic outcomes will evolve over time. Mixed-methods approaches are particularly welcome, combining quantitative data with qualitative insights such as student narratives, reflective logs and peer observations. To support applicants, the Fund team will provide light-touch evaluation guidance; though, projects must articulate their own theory of change and specify how evidence will be collected, interpreted and shared with the wider King’s community.
Long-term viability is equally central, with assessors looking for plans that embed innovation into existing structures rather than treating it as a one-off experiment. Proposals should identify pathways for scaling, integration and ownership after the initial funding period, including how resources, digital tools or redesigned curricula will be maintained. Collaboration with departments, central services and student partners is strongly encouraged to ensure continuity and institutional buy-in.
- Define impact early: Connect activities to clear, student-centred outcomes.
- Use diverse evidence: Blend data, stories and reflective practice.
- Plan for scale: Show how successful elements can be adopted more widely.
- Secure allies: Identify champions who will sustain the work post-funding.
| Focus Area | Example Metric | Sustainability Tactic |
|---|---|---|
| Student engagement | Retention in redesigned modules | Embed activities in programme handbooks |
| Teaching practice | Staff adoption of new methods | Integrate into CPD and induction |
| Digital innovation | Usage of new tools | Secure support from central IT and TEL |
Wrapping Up
As the Education Innovation Fund opens its latest round, King’s is signalling a clear commitment to reimagining how teaching and learning take shape across the university. The coming months will show which projects rise to the surface, but the direction of travel is already set: towards more experimental, evidence‑informed and student‑centred education.For staff and students alike, the chance now is to turn ideas into initiatives that will help define what learning at King’s looks like in the years ahead.
