A quick call with Uli Botzojorns about the Grassfields grant for educational innovation
At Leiden University, there is plenty of experimentation with good ideas to make education even better. But once a project’s pilot phase is over, it can be difficult to find support and momentum for the next step. Grassfields is a yearly funding scheme available for upscaling educational innovations. And these don’t have to be a technical tour de force, says innovation manager Uli Botzojorns.
Hi Uli, why did our university issue the Grassfields funding scheme?
‘When it comes to educational innovation, there's usually a lot of finance, support and enthusiasm for the early stages. However, a roadblock is often hit once an idea is past its pilot phase, but not yet at a place where a university or an external party would want to put a lot of resources into its implementation. This gap is a well-known challenge and something that our university struggles with too, especially in terms of scaling projects internally. The Grassfields grant is about making sure that we can identify which existing innovation projects can really have a positive impact on our education, as well as figure out how to support them to grow – not only within a faculty, but between faculties as well.’
Which project won the grant last year?
‘The 2024 Grassfields grant was awarded to the SpatialMind project, an extended reality platform currently in development, initially for use at FSW, LUMC and HUM, but with the goal to make it available to all faculties. Our university has actually been working with extended reality in education for a very long time, and we've scaled it in a lot of ways. There's studios in different faculties, and many resources available for teachers that are interested in using this type of media in their education. But there's a real bottleneck at making it easily accessible. The goal of SpatialMind is to create a platform for both teachers and students that makes the barrier to entry on extended reality much lower and makes it much easier to share and collaborate on learning materials for XR.’
Does this mean that you need to be tech-savvy to win this grant?
‘Not at all. I think that “innovation” can be a bit of a buzzword sometimes and that for many teachers, it's viewed as bringing in new technology. But to us at LLInC, and in regards to this grant, innovation is simply: making education better for our teachers and students.’
So what kind of projects are eligible?
‘If you have done something in your classroom that has demonstrably had a positive impact, you can apply. An innovative way of using an existing university tool can be really interesting, or maybe you’ve built your own small application that can clearly show that it’s improving learning outcomes for students. But again, the grant doesn’t necessarily require a technical component. It can also be a methodology applied in the classroom that is relevant across disciplines, a good idea to reduce work pressure or a new way to make students more engaged or more excited to be in the classroom. Important to remember is that Grassfields is a scaling proposal, so you really need to have already tested your ideas.’
Do you have any tips for teachers who are considering submitting a proposal?
‘Yes, come talk to me! I think a conversation is the best way to start, and our LLInC team is very hands on in terms of supporting applications. And know that just the process of applying can show you a lot about your idea and what stage it's at in its maturity, and can help us see how better to support your project, even if you don't get awarded this specific grant. So if you have a good idea for improving education that’s already been successfully tested, and you have a good plan for how to scale it into additional faculties: reach out to us via grassfields@llinc.leidenuniv.nl. We're very excited to have those conversations.’
Are you ready to scale up your educational project?
The Grassfields funding scheme provides funding for recently completed and ongoing educational projects with a clear case for wider deployment within the university. The fund will upscale educational innovations which are faculty-transcending in character (and therefore more than one faculty needs to part of your proposal) and exists to ensure that innovation projects do not fail after a successful pilot phase, provided that the only barrier to scaling is that other (external) funding is not found.
Practical information:
- Funding Amount: €300k is available yearly for one project
- Timeline: Projects can last for a maximum of 36 months.
- Application Deadline: 3 October 2025, before 17:00 hours CEST
- Language: Applications can be submitted in either English or Dutch
- Contact information: grassfields@llinc.leidenuniv.nl
More information about the Grassfield grant can be found on the LLInC website. Fill out the expression of interest form by 8 September to access the application material.
Text: Evelien Flink
Banner image: Monique Shaw
SpatialMind image: Adel Qaddoumi