Donor-funded small project grants of up to £5000 available to students and staff to support innovations in teaching, research and student life. Two windows of opportunity open at the University for six weeks each year to support creative ideas that need a financial kick start. Students and staff are invited to present innovative project ideas or activities during spring and autumn to compete for a share of around £150,000. 100% funded through donations to the Edinburgh Fund, Innovation Initiative grants are an opportunity for graduates and friends of the University to invest in its future and support new thinking in research, teaching and student life. Past projects £3,600 enabled Spyros Kizis, a student from Edinburgh College of Art, to design an eco-friendly furniture collection made out of artichoke thistle reinforced plastic - a material he designed himself. £2,270 helped Dr Adam Kirrander create an interactive and educational computer game for Explorathon 2015, an event celebrating science and the work of European researchers that took place at the National Museum of Scotland. £1,984 enabled a group of students to set up The Swap and Reuse HUB co-op (SHRUB). This student-led cooperative aims to provide a centre for reusing items and learning about reuse through skill sharing, exchanging and upcycling. £2,000 enabled Callam Davidson and his team to bring the renowned Pint of Science Festival to Edinburgh. £912 has given FreshAir student radio a unique opportunity to provide live commentary at Edinburgh sporting events. The grant helped FreshAir society purchase lip microphones similar to those used by the BBC and Sky for their commentaries. You can read more about students and staff whose projects were made possible by an Innovation Initiative Grant by visiting the IIG information pages on the Development and Alumni website. We were so grateful to receive an Innovative Initiative Grant; it allowed us to set up our shop, paint the premise and buy tools for our “repairing workshops” that we will be running. Joe ThompsonStudent and Co-founder of SHRUB The IIG was absolutely integral to the success of the festival. The generous funding, we received, allowed us to go above and beyond our original aims. Callam DavidsonPhD student at the Centre for Cardiovascular Science at Little France campus Further information The current window runs from runs from Thursday 14 Sept 2017 until 12 noon on Thursday 26 October 2017. Further information including guidelines, checklists, full terms and conditions and details regarding how to submit your application can be found on the IIG website. Related links Featured projects Publication date 15 Sep, 2017
