The funding is coordinated by IDEA and is intended to stimulate pedagogical development work in the faculty's study programs and to support collegial development communities across organisational units and academic environments in the form of educational groups.
Academic collaboration across boundaries
The objective of the stimulus funding is to support projects that promote teaching quality and stimulate academic collaboration within the faculty. Educational groups (also referred to as collegial development communities) are groups in where educators collaboratively explore and develop teaching practices.
By organising the work in interdisciplinary groups, the focus shifts from discipline-specific content in teaching planning to universal teaching practices.
When educators with different disciplinary backgrounds and roles come together, diverse perspectives on learning, assessment, and instructional design are combined. This makes it easier to identify and further develop good practices that are effective across contexts. Interdisciplinary collaboration also strengthens the academic community at the faculty, builds relationships among staff, and increases the likelihood of a collective enhancement of competence.
The application must describe how the project contributes to such collaboration and include a plan for dissemination and sharing. Interdisciplinary groups are understood to mean educational groups across affiliations (departments/units, academic environments, or disciplinary groups) and/or roles (academic staff and technical and administrative staff).
In line with the faculty's annual plan 2025-2028, applications addressing the following themes will be prioritised in 2026:
- AI and assessment practices: projects that explore the pedagogical potential of AI, while also addressing the challenges related to AI and assessment
- Social sustainability: projects that develop teaching approaches that contribute to the inclusion of students with diverse challenges
- Flexible and hybrid teaching formats: projects that explore teaching formats tailored to different student groups
- Continuing and further education (EVU): projects that contribute to the development of teaching offers aimed at lifelong learning.
Reporting and sharing
To support a collective enhancement of competence, all funded projects will be presented on IDEA's webpages, and the projects' experiences and results will be shared continuously.
Who can apply
Academic staff who are working on promotion applications or who are considering applying for the merit scheme for educational competence are particularly encouraged to apply in order to document their methods and results in accordance with the SoTL criteria (Scholarship of Teaching and Learning).
All staff in permanent academic positions (minimum 50 percent employment) at the Faculty of Educational Sciences may apply. Educational groups may include staff from all position categories, as well as students. Collaboration between academic staff and technical and administrative staff is welcomed, including across organisational units. Active involvement of students in the project is also encouraged.
Financial framework and allocation of funds
A total of NOK 500,000 in stimulus funding is being made available for 2026. Each project may apply for funding of up to NOK 125,000. This funding may, for example, cover costs related to:
- Workshops and seminars
- Purchase of services
- Invitation (travel costs) of potential collaborators
- Buyout
The funds must be used in 2026 and 2027 and all applications must be approved by the head of the department/unit where the project leader is employed.
The application
The application may be written in Norwegian or English and must be no more than 4 pages. The application text/project outline may be a maximum of 2 pages. The remaining pages must include:
- An activity and progress plan including expected outcome
- A plan for sharing/dissemination and how the project contributes to a collective competence boost
- An overview of project participants and their affiliations across the faculty and academic environments
Application deadline
Applications must be submitted via the online form by February 20th 2026, before 11:59 p.m.
Contact person: IDEA coordinator Michelle Storakeren.