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Supporting Teaching Fellows and Learning Technologists in pursuing development opportunities.

Apply

Fill-out the application form to apply

The Fund supports Teaching Fellows and Learning Technologists to develop within their roles. The Fund has been established to support staff in the Faculties and the Business School to: 

  • actively contribute to discussion on areas of curricula related to their pedagogic expertise and experience, and develop in line with best practices 
  • engage in scholarly activities that enhance best practices in teaching and learning such as workshops or training seminars 
  • attend and present at relevant events and conferences  

Attending conferences, training courses, and workshops can contribute to the 10 development days that teaching fellows are contractually entitled to take. For more information on the development days, please see the relevant website.   

Eligibility

Please note, the Fund cannot be used for development activity where similar provision is provided by the College. We highly recommend looking through the provisions of the Educational Development Unit and the Learning Development Centre before applying. This fund cannot be used to purchase equipment or resources that already exist at Imperial, or that are not instrumental to learning and teaching. 

The Fund is available to staff in the Learning and Teaching Job Family, in the Faculties and the Business School, who do not have access to an alternative source of funding (e.g. departmental funds) in full-time or part-time roles. Funding is only granted to those whose contract end dates surpass the end date of the professional development activity by at least 3 months. Funding will not normally be available to staff whose posts are externally funded 

Process

Funding is available throughout the year, and up to £3,000 per person per financial year (1 Aug - 31 Jul) can be requested. The minimum requestable sum is £100 and claims below this should be directed to Departments. For those applying for funding for conferences or other endeavours that involve booking accommodation, there is generally a 7-day limit for funding your stay.  

As a condition of the Fund, staff may be asked to report back on what the Fund has allowed them to do, what they will implement into their practice as a result, and how their activity is aligned to the Learning and Teaching Strategy. This might take the form of, for example, a written report, a blog post, a presentation to a group of relevant colleagues. 

Please submit your request at least three weeks before any deadlines (e.g. a conference registration deadline) and direct any questions to ltstrategy@imperial.ac.uk

Frequently Asked Questions

I have been approved to access the TFDF. How do I use my funds?

The most common requests we see are for conferences and associated costs. Accommodation and transportation must be booked using Egencia. To gain access to Egencia, please ensure you've created a traveler profile with Imperial here: Traveller profile registration | Administration and support services | Imperial College London. All purchases on Egencia must be made using a Purchase Order. Awardees of the fund should have their departmental finance representative raise a Purchase Order on their departmental cost codes to purchase the travel/accommodation. Once the PO has been raised, the awardee and their finance rep will notify the Education Office via ltstrategy@ic.ac.uk and the funds will be journaled to the relevant departmental cost code.

Alternatively, 

Teaching Fellows and Learning Technologists can submit an expense claim.  

When claiming your expenses on My Expenses, you’ll find the “Non-Project (GL Accounts)” tab during step 3. Please use the following information to code your expenses to the Teaching Fellow Development Fund:   

 Company: IC   

Cost Centre: EQLTS   

Activity: G74004   

You may also be asked for an Analysis Code. The staff expenses policy can be accessed here: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/staff-travel-and-expenses/claims-and-post-trip-activities/expenses/  

I don’t have access to Egencia, how do I set this up?

To set up an account for Egencia, please submit a ticket to ASK here: Travel Registration for access to Egencia - ASK Imperial (service-now.com). Please be aware that if you haven’t used Egencia before, you will have to set up an account which may take 3-4 business days to be authorised.

Can my departmental finance representative raise a Purchase Order on the Teaching Fellow and Learning Technologist Development Fund cost code?

No, Purchase Orders must be raised using departmental finance codes. Once this is completed, funds will be journaled from the Teaching Fellow and Learning Technologist Development Fund account to the relevant cost code. 

What happens if I can’t complete my expenses before the end of the financial year?

Expenses that aren’t submitted before the 31st July, which is the end of the financial year, will come from next year’s fund.

I have seen accommodation that is more affordable than that provided through Egencia, how can I book through other means?

If the price of accommodation can be sourced at a better rate you can liaise directly with the provider and claim through the expenses system. Please see this page for more information: Hotels | Administration and support services | Imperial College London

I need travel insurance for my trip funded by the TFDF. Where can I get this?

You will need to register for travel insurance via the College website. Please fill in this form: Travel Insurance Registration | Finance Division (qualtrics.com)

I want to expense for subsistence meals, what are my allowances?

If you are travelling inside of the UK, the rates are broken down into each meal which can be viewed here. If you are staying overnight as part of your trip, you are advised to use the 24-hour meal rate found here. For travel outside of the UK, please consult the guidelines here.

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