Skylight Development Grants

The Science Centre for Learning and Teaching Development Fund was created in 2002 to support learning and teaching projects across the Faculty of Science. Since its inception, grants totalling over $965,000 have been awarded to over 365 projects.

Skylight Development Grants provide matching funds for projects that by their scale, scope and/or focus are unlikely to receive TLEF funding, but would provide significant benefit to undergraduate or graduate teaching and learning. Grant applications bridging projects to the next TLEF competition are also considered.

• There are two competitions this year in April and June, with up to $25,000 available in each competition.
• Funding is limited to courses and specializations for which units in the Faculty of Science have the primary responsibility for delivery.
• The maximum grant from Skylight per proposal is $5,000.
• A matching funds commitment, of equal or greater value, from your home department or program is required. Matching funds may not be in-kind contributions.
• In your project description, please explain the need and the potential impact and benefit to teaching and learning in the Faculty of Science and the number of students (and/or faculty) impacted. Please also indicate how you plan to evaluate the project, the timelines of the proposed work and how it will be sustained beyond the lifetime of the grant.
• Skylight encourages student-initiated grant proposals. However, all proposals must be developed in consultation with a faculty or staff member from the Faculty of Science, who must be listed as the principal applicant or co-applicant.
• Approval of the head or director of your home department or program is required.
• Applications are evaluated by a small committee with members drawn from Skylight, the Dean’s Office, and SUS. Applicants will be notified of the results of the adjudication process within 2-3 weeks of the application deadline. 
• Successful applicants are asked to provide a one-page report on their project 12 months following receipt of the grant.

Budget information and instructions

• Please provide as much detail as possible in the budget breakdown section.
• The TLEF website has a useful list of current pay rates for common positions (see the Budget Considerations section at the bottom of the page).
• If you plan to employ undergraduate or graduate students to work on your project, you will likely be hiring them as Undergraduate or Graduate Academic Assistants (UAAs or GAAs) unless they are doing TA work. For more information about hiring UAAs and GAAs, please visit the HR website (requires CWL to login). You may also want to consult the CUPE 2278 salary scale on the HR website for the list of current hourly pay rates for UTAs and GTAs which can serve as a helpful guideline when hiring UAAs and GAAs.
• Equipment requests may be funded if there is a pedagogical need clearly identified in the proposal and no other source of funding exists. A maximum Skylight contribution of $3,500 per competition can be used to fund equipment.
  • Equipment that can be funded: computer peripherals such as audio/video equipment, some lab equipment.
  • Equipment that cannot be funded: computers, printers, monitors, lab consumables (glassware, reagents, etc.), supplies.

Questions

For questions about the budget, or any other aspect of your Skylight Development Grant application, please contact Gülnur Birol at birol@science.ubc.ca. For general inquiries, contact us at skylight@science.ubc.ca.

Successful Applications from Past Competitions