Call for Statements of Interest: FUNDED Faculty Seminar Away – UK (England/N.Ireland) – April 2024

Extended Deadline: Wednesday, January 31, 2024, 11:59 p.m.

The Division of Global Engagement (GE) invites statements of interest from UCSC Senate faculty who are interested in participating in the pilot year of the Faculty Seminar Away which will provide a one-week fully funded trip to engage with two existing institutional partners in the United Kingdom (England and Northern Ireland).

Your statement of interest will simply be your responses to the following prompts (300 words or fewer, per prompt).

  1. Per the criteria outlined in the Call, what are your goals for participating?   
  2. What are two to three anticipated outcomes and what is the timeline to realize the outcomes?
  3. How will your participation be beneficial not only to your teaching and/or research, but also to UC Santa Cruz more generally?

Tentative Itinerary

Dates: Sunday, April 21 to Saturday, April 27, 2024

Institutions included in the Seminar:

  • Queen’s University Belfast (Belfast, Northern Ireland) – Arrive April 21, Depart April 24
  • University of Bristol (Bristol, England) – Arrive April 24, Depart April 27

Goals

  • Engage UCSC faculty directly in the work of deepening institutional partnerships and advancing the Strategic Plan for Internationalization for the campus 
  • Foster international and interdisciplinary connections and dialogue, internally among UCSC faculty participants, and externally, with faculty at the partner institutions
  • Provide opportunities for UCSC faculty to develop new or strengthen existing  relationships with colleagues abroad that may lead to deeper ongoing work with the host country/institution that accrues benefits to the UCSC community, e.g.:
    • Teaching and research connections to spur new international curriculum development such as Global Classrooms;
    • Gaining a deeper understanding of a partner institution’s curriculum, to support Global Engagement’s effort to pre-approve partner courses taken by UCSC students participating in exchange programs
    • Building new research collaborations that can unlock potential for larger, often multi-country research grants, potentially creating new opportunities for graduate student training.
    • Institutional familiarity with partner to promote and advance multi-modal engagement that strengthens and deepens partnership

What to Expect by Participating / Examples of Possible Engagement w/ Partners

  • Two days at each institution, tentatively
    • Day 1 – Structured activities and opportunities to engage, e.g. Roundtable discussions, overview of funding opportunities, tours of facilities/labs, networking lunch and reception
    • Day 2 – Individually organized follow-up activities, e.g. meetings/discussions, visits to specific labs, etc. 

Criteria and Review

  • All Senate faculty are eligible to apply
  • Up to 12 participants will be selected, each from a different department, across at least three divisions 
  • Statements of interest will be evaluated on the following:
    • Clearly articulated goals and expected outcomes for teaching and/or research
    • Explanation of how expected outcomes will benefit both institutions and the partnership
    • Priority will be given to those proposals that address both teaching and research goals.
    • A committee will review submissions and select participants. 
    • Faculty will be notified in writing regarding the final status of their submission by February 9, 2024.
Last modified: Jan 26, 2024