From: Joseph Wong, Vice-President, International
Date: July 24, 2020
Re: Call for Proposals – International Student Experience Fund (PDAD&C #5)

Now in its third year, the International Student Experience Fund (ISEF) is intended to support curricular and co-curricular initiatives that: enhance the experience of international students; foster intercultural and international-to-domestic student, staff, and faculty engagement; and internationalize the University of Toronto student experience. It is recommended that curricular proposals include a co-curricular collaborator.

The realities and lessons of COVID-19 make the objective of the ISEF—fostering a learning environment aligns with the U of T’s global mission and profile —all the more salient. The advent of a global pandemic, while temporary, has brought the practical preconditions for a truly global learning environment into stark relief. The delivery of synchronous, asynchronous, and/or blended content must be accompanied by a heightened sensitivity to international students— particularly those who reside outside of our campuses, in different time zones, with varying degrees of access to online platforms.

Funding Streams

The ISEF supports two streams of activities; Seed ($5,000-$15,000 per year, maximum 3 years) and Impact ($15,000-$60,000 per year, maximum 2 years). This tiered system is intended to provide opportunities for projects that explore, implement and scale up promising practices at different stages of their development and implementation, and create a pathway for projects from their initial inception to their full potential. Impact Grant candidates will be required to submit a Letter of Intent as part of a two-stage application process.

Thematic Areas

Proposals that integrate one or more of the following key thematic areas will be given preference. This list is not exhaustive; proposals that address the goals through alternative means are encouraged.

Programs and Services: Improve the structure and delivery of U of T’s programs and services to better serve students from all backgrounds.

Inclusive Classrooms: Create conditions within the classroom through curricular and pedagogical innovations to facilitate the fuller participation of all students with the course content and with each other.

Addressing Barriers Inside and Outside of the Classroom: Improve international students’ access to key services by addressing existing impediments for international students to receive timely and accurate information at each stage of the recruitment-to-convocation experience. Find ways to effectively provide information in order to foster integration.

Interactional Diversity: Enhance intergroup interaction (across domestic/international students and between international students) inside and outside the classroom for the purposes of developing global fluency, a critical 21st-century skill. Empower and equip students with the skills and experiences to communicate confidently across cultures in both academic and informal settings.

Reaching Students Early: Enhance and complement existing University efforts to facilitate student integration through proactive, coordinated, and timely engagement of international students before they arrive at the U of T and at subsequent key moments during their first year of study.

Timeline 

The 2020-21 Call for Proposals is now available online. Applications for the two fund streams will be accepted as follows:

• Seed Grants ($5,000-$15,000 per year) will be accepted on a rolling basis.
• Impact Grants ($15,000-$60,000 per year) require the submission of an initial Letter of Intent by Friday, October 16, 2020.  Select candidates will be invited to submit full proposals by Friday, January 15, 2021.

Those interested in applying are invited to join the International Student Experience Fund Webinar on Wednesday, August 19 at 11:00am (Zoom meeting details provided below).

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84171069747?pwd=QTBHcFExR2NrS3NhSUVoUGxJdDZVdz09
Meeting ID: 841 7106 9747
Password: 4uQRH9

Questions about ISEF can be directed to international@utoronto.ca.