Learn about supported and targeted educational scholarship projects at Sussex.
About the programme
The Strategic Scholarship Fellows Programme is a scheme through which Education and Scholarship colleagues can lead or contribute to research that directly informs institutional decision making.
Successful applicants will work in cross-faculty teams to design and conduct their own research projects, supported by mentoring, methodological advice, access to institutional data, and library expertise.
The programme offers multiple benefits for students, colleagues, and the wider institution. It will help us develop evidence-informed responses to institutional challenges, strengthen our TEF narrative, and contribute to Sussex's commitment to improving the student experience through collaborative inquiry.
Who can apply
The Programme is open to all Education and Scholarship colleagues, regardless of previous scholarship experience. These projects are collaborative and supported by the institution, with the aim to help colleagues grow their scholarship profile at whatever stage they are at with their practice.
What the Programme offers Fellows
The programme is designed to create valuable career development opportunities for Education and Scholarship colleagues via scholarship outputs and impact that can support promotion and applications for Advance HE Fellowship at all levels.
Key benefits
- Impact and recognition
The programme will support impact and recognition. Project outcomes will:
- be reported directly to the University Education Committee and other senior groups, informing decisions about what initiatives the institution starts, stops, or scales
- be shared via Learning Matters, the Education at Sussex newsletter and the Sussex Education Festival
- be shared beyond the University, via national and international teaching and learning networks.
Also, all Fellows will receive an award at the Sussex Awards ceremony in Summer 2027.
- Structured support to enhance skills
Project groups will be provided with:
- a team of mentors who will provide advice on impactful educational research planning and implementation
- dedicated Library support and facilitated access to institutional data
- tailored workshops to develop recommendations for policymaking, and to help them draw on their experiences for professional recognition via Advance HE Fellowship applications and National Teaching Fellow (NTF) applications.
- Ability to plan projects around commitments
Projects are designed to be manageable within existing scholarship allocations or time that can be set aside for scholarship. Teams will agree between themselves how and when each member contributes, and a realistic commitment for each person will be set at the project kick-off meeting.
- Genuine collaboration
Fellows will work in cross-faculty teams, with the chance to learn methods and perspectives from outside their discipline.
2026-27 project briefs
In its first year, the programme will focus on three project briefs:
1. Career networking for students
Exploring why students' confidence in building professional networks varies significantly across Schools and disciplines, this project will investigate how we can improve career confidence for all students.
2. Assessment and feedback
Investigating the factors behind persistent challenges in students' experiences of assessment and feedback, this project will identify best practices that could be scaled across the University.
3. Outcomes for students from the most deprived neighbourhoods
Examining the causes of growing completion and attainment gaps, this project will identify opportunities for meaningful intervention.
Read the full project briefs in Box (University of Sussex login required).
How project teams can approach a brief
Each brief poses a question, but teams have flexibility in how they respond. Projects typically take one or more of the following approaches and the final shape of the work can develop as the project progresses, such as:
- Scoping projects, which explore an issue in depth to inform institutional action.
- Applied projects, which analyse existing institutional data to generate recommendations.
- Intervention projects design, to pilot and evaluate approaches to address identified challenges.
Across all projects, three questions guide the work:
- What do we already know about this challenge, at Sussex and beyond?
- What more do we need to find out?
- What actions could Sussex take in response?
Projects are not expected to provide definitive answers. We are looking for well-designed contributions that strengthen institutional understanding and inform future action.
Scope, data and methods
Projects should address the institutional question but do not need to cover the whole University. Case-study approaches focused on particular faculties, departments or contexts are welcome where they can generate wider institutional learning.
The data sources listed in each brief are suggestions rather than requirements. Project teams can draw on a range of institutional datasets, supported by the Data and Insights and Student Data teams.
Strategic Scholarship projects are expected to use mixed methods where appropriate, combining different forms of evidence to generate robust and actionable insights.
Support available
Project teams lead the design and delivery of their research. The programme provides support to help projects succeed, including:
- programme induction and project kick-off meetings
- ongoing mentoring from experienced education-focused colleagues
- methodological and evaluation support, including guidance on ethical review processes
- facilitated access to institutional data
- library support to help develop participants' scholarship profiles
- regular check-ins with the Strategic Scholarship Projects Board and peer support through the Fellows cohort.
The programme is governed by the Strategic Scholarship Projects Board, reporting to the Education and Scholarship Sub-Committee (ESSC).
How project teams will be formed
We welcome expressions of interest from all colleagues across the University, either individually or as a team, and at any level of seniority and experience. Final decisions on the composition of the project teams will be made by the Strategic Projects Board and Faculty Leads for Education Enhancement. We will do our best to accommodate preferences expressed in the application process.
Indicative timeline
The projected timeline is anticipated to be as follows:
- 1 September 2026 – expressions of interest open
- 20 September 2026 – expressions of interest close
- 2 October 2026 – Fellows and project teams confirmed
- afternoon of 14 October 2026 – programme induction event
- October-November 2026 – research plans, methods and analysis protocols finalised
- November 2026-January 2027 – ethical review
- January-April 2027 – data collection and analysis
- April-May 2027 – findings reports and presentations drafted
- May-June 2027 – reporting to committees and the Sussex Education Festival.
How to apply
Interdisciplinary project teams will be formed at the end of the application process.
Note that in this pilot year, the programme is available only to colleagues on Education and Scholarship contracts.
Next steps include:
- finding further information on the project briefs
- applying via this short Qualtrics form
- awaiting final decisions on the composition of the project teams, to be made by the Strategic Projects Board and Faculty Leads for Education Enhancement using the criteria outlined in the document available in Box.