Guidelines for Applicants

Download pdf version -|- Download application form

UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

DREAMLARGE:
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER STUDENT GRANTS SCHEME
2008

1. Summary

The Knowledge Transfer Committee has established the Dreamlarge: Student Project Grant Scheme in 2008 in support of Knowledge Transfer projects which connect student groups with external partners. Grants of up to $2,500 (a substantial number depending upon the quality of the applications) as well as 5 grants of up to $5,000 will be made available to enrolled students of the University. Enrolled undergraduate and postgraduate students may apply to the Scheme.

2. Timetable for 2008 Scheme

Applications will close on 25 July 2008.
Successful applicants will be advised by end of August.

3. Objectives of the Scheme

The objectives of the Scheme are:

to assist and promote the development of Knowledge Transfer projects between students of the University and external partner organisations;
to broaden student experiences during their education with the University of Melbourne and in so doing fulfil the strategic aims of the Melbourne model;
to provide the community and external partner organisations with a transfer of knowledge from the students of the University which reflects the training and learning they receive as part of their degree programs with the University of Melbourne

4. Application process

Students seeking to apply for the Scheme should as a first step read carefully the criteria for selection for a Dreamlarge: Student Knowledge Transfer Grant and then seek advice from the Associate Dean Knowledge Transfer or equivalent person in their faculty. Before seeking this advice the students should have a draft outline of the project that they wish to undertake under the scheme.

Student groups are advised that the following procedures will apply to the operation of the Scheme:

applications complete with all signatures and documentation are to be lodged in the appropriate box in the Faculty office;
an electronic copy of the application is to be lodged by the closing date at

dreamlarge-kt@unimelb.edu.au The electronic copy does not require original signatures. The signatures are required on the paper copy only.

The Associate Dean Knowledge Transfer, or equivalent will assist students find a mentor for their project;
the mentor may be an academic member of staff or a member of the Faculty’s professional staff;
the mentor’s role will be to supervise the design and implementation of the project and assist students find a partner organisations for their project;
every application will require the signature of the Faculty’s mentor.
applications will be reviewed by a committee of the Faculty and ranked in terms of the selection criteria. Following this ranking the applications will be passed to the Academic Enrichment Services for validation of the information provided. The applications will then be referred to the Knowledge Transfer Grants Working Group for the selection of the successful applicants;
the Student Centre Manager, or equivalent in each faculty will assist students with the administrative aspects of their applications, eg. assist successful applicants access the grant awarded;
access to grant monies will be administered by the Faculty in which the project leader is enrolled.

5. Conditions of the Scheme

All applications must be made on the appropriate application form and must include all the documentation requested.
A hard (paper) copy of the application including documentation is to be lodged with the Faculty Office. An electronic copy. is to be to be lodged through dreamlarge-ktc@unimelb.edu.au
Both copies must be lodged by the closing date and late applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must be students currently enrolled in a course offered by the University and must complete the project before they complete the course for which they are enrolled.
Undergraduate and postgraduate students are eligible to apply for the scheme
Projects must commence in second semester 2008 and must be completed within a year.
Grants are intended to assist a group of students with a project and are not intended for an individual’s project.
Each application must be signed by at least three enrolled students, including an elected team leader. Larger groups will also be considered. The team leader is responsible for representing the group to the faculty providing the mentor.
The group may be constituted from students across departments, schools and faculties and where this is the case the application must be lodged with the faculty in which the team leader is enrolled.
Each project application must have a mentor. In the first instance students should seek advice from the Faculty’s Knowledge Transfer Associate Dean, or equivalent, who will assist with finding a suitable mentor.
Projects must have the support of a partner organisation and mentors will assist students find a partner organisation.
Applications must include a budget. The contribution made by the external partner may be cash or ‘in kind’ support for the project. “In kind’ support includes resources or materials that are essential to the project.

The budget template provided with the application form must be completed and submitted with the application.
Each project must have the endorsement of the Head of Department/School and their agreement to provide whatever resources are required, eg. space, I.T and administrative support.
Each team awarded a grant is required to provide a brief report on the project, signed by all participants, at its conclusion. Upon receipt of this report the students in the team will each be awarded a certificate by the Knowledge Transfer Committee of the University.

6. Criteria for Selection

The University of Melbourne’s Knowledge Transfer Student Project Grants Scheme is designed to build a stronger, more resilient relationship between students and the community and is underpinned by three principles.
1. The projects generate intellectual capital in ways that mutually benefit the students of the University and the external partners with which it engages.
2. The projects are linked within the University’s teaching and research activities.
3. The Knowledge Transfer projects are characterised by their responsiveness and relevance to international, social, economic, environmental and cultural issues.
On the basis of these principles the following criteria for selection will apply.

The project grant needs to be genuinely embedded in or demonstrate knowledge transfer by building on the University’s intellectual capital.
The applications for projects grants have to demonstrate knowledge transfer as a two-way process, which generates activities which feed back into the University through either teaching or research and then to the community and organisation. This two-way process may be demonstrated through the engagement with the partner organisation and the potential for further interaction with research or teaching.
The knowledge transfer that takes place should demonstrate an impact at either the local, national or international level.

Key characteristics looked for in applications will include –

the quality of the project or activity and the degree to which the proposed project builds a mutually beneficial relationship with the partner organisation;
the innovative or new aspect of knowledge transfer associated with the project;
the potential for future development of the project or activity with the partner organisation;
the relevance of the proposed project to the teaching and learning and/or research agenda of the University;
the innovative nature of the collaboration;
the achievability of the proposed project;
the significance of the proposed project.

Download pdf version -|- Download application form

Additional copies of these guidelines may be obtained from http://www.unimelb.edu.au/abp/kt