€5.57m Fund Announced for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Irish Higher Education

Posted: 7 June, 2019

€5.57m Fund Announced for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Irish Higher Education

The Higher Education Authority, in partnership with the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, has announced today a new once-off non-competitive fund for teaching and learning in higher education. The fund aligns strategically the teaching and learning enhancement funding that has been allocated by the National Forum since 2014 and the additional funding of €5m for teaching and learning capacity building announced in budget 2019 following the Review of the Allocation Model for Funding Higher Education Institutions.

This call, with a total value of €5.57m, represents a significant commitment to the enhancement of teaching and learning in Irish higher education. The investment is designed to enable the development of a strong foundation for future enhancement of teaching and learning within institutions in line with local priorities.

The call welcomes proposals from higher education institutions across four key focus areas:

• Supporting and Highlighting the Value of Teaching and Learning Enhancement within Higher Education Institutions
• Teaching and Learning Enhancement within Disciplines
• Teaching and Learning Enhancement across Disciplines
• Teaching and Learning Enhancement in Collaboration with Professional Bodies and/or Industry Partners

Responding to the announcement of the call, Dr Terry Maguire, Director of the National Forum stated: ‘We are delighted to support this unique investment in teaching and learning in Irish higher education. Its focus on teaching and learning enhancement within and across disciplines is particularly positive as we know from the experience of the colleagues across the sector the importance of the discipline as a key unit of change in higher education’.

The CEO of the HEA, Paul O’Toole, commented: The HEA is very pleased to welcome this announcement. This fund complements and supports previous investments made in this area under the HEA’s Higher Education Innovation and Transformation Fund 2018 and through the National Forum’s Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund, which has been in place since 2014. Supporting the enhancement of teaching and learning is fundamental to ensuring students have a positive experience of higher education and are successful in life and work beyond graduation.