The Eden Catalyst Fund supports evidence-based education enhancement and innovation projects for up to £8000. We support initiatives which contribute to the development and delivery of education enhancement activities at the School.
Applications should be related to one or more of the themes below.
**New for 2024/25: Catalyst Spotlight Fund on Generative AI**
Three innovative projects have been awarded funding through the Eden Catalyst Spotlight Fund on Generative AI in Education. The fund has been designed to enhance the teaching and learning experience of our students through the integration of generative AI into teaching and learning while also supporting research to increase our understanding of generative AI tools.
The three successful projects explore diverse aspects of generative AI in education enabling the development of teaching and learning within specific disciplines while will also generating insights and applications relevant across the School.
- Edoardo Zulato and colleagues in the Department of Psychological and Behavioral Science will draw on content analysis, conversation analysis and protocol analysis to investigate students' social interactions with LLMs;
- Carrie Friese, course convenor of SO492: Qualitative Social Research Methods, is developing a new approach to large group teaching for SO492 and introducing new teaching and learning activities on AI and qualitative research. These innovations, combined with other elements of the course, will provide postgraduate taught students in the Department of Sociology with opportunities to learn about the potential applications of AI in qualitative social research as well as generate lessons for large-scale class teaching to inform evolving practice across the School;
- Ronny Razin and Antonio Mele from the Department of Economics are designing and testing a conversational tool that will support students in approaching problem sets and highlight areas for improvement. The tool will be flexible and adaptable to different learners within Economics.
Emma McCoy, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education, commented ‘I am delighted to see the outcome of the Eden Catalyst Spotlight awards showcasing three fascinating projects that will deepen our understanding of how generative AI can be effectively used in education. These initiatives will not only advance the scholarly debate on the role of generative AI in education but also underscore the critical importance of placing the social sciences at the forefront of this work.’
Curriculum enrichment
The Catalyst Fund supports projects aimed at developing approaches that support and enhance students’ learning experience on their courses and programmes.
This might include projects which explore new or innovative teaching activities, or which review or refresh the design of existing courses or programmes.
Assessment and feedback enhancement
The Catalyst Fund supports projects aimed at developing approaches to assessment and feedback which enhance students’ educational experience.
This might include projects exploring assessment design in the light of Generative AI, or which explore programme-level approaches to assessment.
Technology enhanced learning and digital innovation
The Catalyst Fund supports projects aimed at innovating or enhancing learning through technology.
This might include projects exploring technologies for enhancing assessment and feedback practices, those used in the classroom and/or those used asynchronously by students.
Inclusive education
The Catalyst Fund supports projects which develop inclusive educational practices. At LSE, these are centred on the recognition of all identities, underpinned by a steadfast dedication to principled and inclusive teaching and learning approaches.
This might include projects around academic mentoring, the integration of inclusive and anti-racist pedagogies, and diversification and decolonisation of our curriculum.
Education for Sustainability
The Catalyst Fund supports projects which develop sustainable educational approaches, which equip students with the skills for perceptive analysis of social issues, aiming to drive progress towards a more sustainable future.
This might include projects which explore ways to embed sustainability in the curriculum, which develop students’ critical and systems thinking, or which help them prepare for complex challenges.
Staff-student partnership
The Catalyst Fund supports projects aimed at positioning students as equal participants, active collaborators and/or co-creators with staff in their education and wider student experience.
This might include projects which explore any of the aspects of education enhancement listed above from a student partnership perspective.
**Please note that the Catalyst Fund also supports research projects and data collection contributing to institutional and sector-wide debates connected to the themes listed above.**
The deadline to submit an application for funding has passed, applications will reopen in September (date TBC).
The Eden Catalyst fund is open to members of staff affiliated to School’s Departments.
If affiliation with the School does not match the length of the project, applicants should have a co-lead to guarantee completion of the project and dissemination of findings and/or good practices.
Please note that communication regarding the application process will be shared also with the applicants’ Head of Department and Department Manager. Applicants are expected to inform the HoD and DM about their application.
Regrettably, students cannot apply to the Eden Catalyst Fund. Student’s inquiries can be directed to the Student Communities inbox (student.communities@lse.ac.uk).
The approving panel is aiming to support evidence-based, education enhancement, and innovation projects.
- Evidence-based: The panel is interested to hear about the evidence base underpinning the project, this could be from the scholarship, how the project connects with past projects within and outside the Department, and/or results from student feedback.
- Education Enhancement: The panel is interested to hear about initiatives which contribute to improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment activities and experiences for students and staff in line with LSE 2030 Educate for Global Impact. These can be at course, programme, or department level.
- Innovation: The panel is interested to hear about projects aiming at innovating teaching and learning activities, introducing creative pedagogic practices, digital innovation, redesigning assessments, and focusing on key priorities of LSE2030 Educate for Global Impact. These can be at course, programme or department level. The Fund also supports innovation by funding practice sharing and practice building within and across disciplines.
The panel is particularly interested to hear about how applicants will use the experience of the project to inspire the larger LSE teaching and learning community (outputs can be sharable resources, academic and staff development sessions, HE blogs posts, case studies, short videos, etc).
To ensure continuity and clarity in the application process, the following points outline what is beyond the remit of the Fund. The list below will be reviewed annually to meet the ever-changing landscape of teaching in Higher Education.
Regrettably, we are unable to fund:
- Costs towards repeating activities previously funded by the Catalyst Fund or other funds across the School. However, we are very interested in supporting ideas or practices emerging from past projects implemented within a department or inspired by previous Catalyst funded projects across the School.
- Costs towards paying permanent members of staff.
- Costs towards paying teaching staff to perform teaching and marking duties.
- Costs towards hiring external consultants whose area of expertise overlaps with the expertise of teams or members of the LSE community.
- Costs towards producing Departmental merchandise.
- Costs towards buying electronic goods for staff such as laptops and desktops.
- Costs towards travel expenses and conference fees for full time and permanent members of staff
We generally do not fund:
- Costs towards food catering
- Costs towards hiring venues outside LSE
- Costs towards travel expenses for visiting scholars
However, we might consider contributing towards the cost of food, venues and travel expenses for visiting scholars if the Catalyst Fund intervention is essential to a successful outcome of the project.