University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Grainger College of Engineering
Academy for Excellence in Engineering Education

Grants for Advancement of Teaching in Engineering (GATE-RFP)

2023-2024 Program

The Grainger College of Engineering and the Academy for Excellence in Engineering Education (AE3) invite proposals for enhancements of teaching and learning practices in undergraduate engineering programs. The purpose of the Grants for Advancement of Teaching in Engineering (GATE) program is to support efforts to identify and solve problems in the engineering undergraduate learning experience. The GATE program is designed to help instructors begin their journey into innovative teaching and learning with the intent to foster interest in larger Strategic Instructional Innovation Program (SIIP) grants that build on the early GATE work. We want to “open the gate” to further innovations in engineering education!

The GATE program is open to all ranks of faculty, instructors, academic professionals, and advisors within The Grainger College of Engineering. Proposals are invited from individuals or small teams.

GATE supports initiatives that investigate what happens inside and outside the classroom, how this impacts instruction and student learning, and how it can be enhanced. In general, we anticipate most of the funding to be awarded to projects with a direct impact in the classroom, but initiatives that strive to enhance the general culture of teaching and learning are also welcomed.

GATE awards range from $5,000-8,000. Funds may be used to cover personnel costs, including release time and undergraduate/graduate student support. Special teaching-related software can be included in the proposal, but requests for laboratory equipment should not be included.

Proposals should be 2-3 pages and include a description of the existing need, objectives of the proposed project, the projected impact, the anticipated outcomes and their measurement, a timeline for implementation, and a budget. Multi-year projects will not be considered, although GATE grants can be used as a springboard to subsequent SIIP grants. Funds awarded must be utilized during the 2023-2024 academic year ending in June 2024.

Recipients of funded proposals will be expected to interact with other faculty in the College to share successes & failures, learn about innovative teaching practices, and provide summaries of their projects. Specifically, we expect the following from each grantee:

  • 1-2 lunch meetings per semester with other GATE awardees and AE3 staff
  • Participation at the annual AE3 “Celebration of Teaching” in April 2024
  • Attendance at one of the AE3 events during the year (lightning symposium, distinguished lecture, workshops)

Proposals must have support from the department head of the PI (email signifying support of the proposal is adequate). Collaborations outside The Grainger College of Engineering are possible, but the PI must be a member of Grainger and the project must have demonstrable relevance to and/or impact on engineering students. Proposal timeline:

  • Proposal submitted via PDF by Friday, September 15, 2023
  • Decisions made by Friday, September 29, 2023
  • Funds made available by mid-October 2023

Proposal questions, and final submissions, should be directed to AE3 Director, Jay Mann.