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Global Challenges Teaching Award - Climate Action

The Global Challenges Teaching Award in Climate Action supports a pair of teaching faculty – one at a US higher education Institution (HEI) and one at a UK HEI– to collaboratively deliver a virtual exchange programme focused on climate change and climate action.

Climate change is rapidly defining everyday life worldwide. Urgent action is needed on all levels to protect the planet. 

Do you teach an undergraduate class at a US or UK HEI that directly addresses climate change and explores action to combat its impact? Discover how this award can help expand the reach of your teaching by adapting one of your existing courses for co-teaching with an international counterpart. 

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 emphasizes the urgent need to combat climate change and its devastating impacts. The catastrophic consequences of climate change are evident globally, demanding transformative actions to secure a sustainable and equitable future. Education plays a vital role in understanding climate change and equipping individuals to take actionable steps in response. Climate change is a global challenge, requiring the development of global citizens who can collaborate across borders to address it. 

The Global Challenges Teaching Award - Climate Action provides a unique opportunity for faculty in the US and UK to co-develop and co-teach a virtual exchange programme that empowers students to address the challenges of climate change and climate action. 

Applications are welcomed from teaching faculty in any discipline that aligns with the UN SDG 13 (Climate Action). Applications may also align with other climate and environment-focused SDGs, such as SDG 7, 11, 12, 14, and 15.

Applicants should demonstrate how their proposed module addresses the challenges of climate change and climate action and empowers students to take action to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Priority Topics

We are particularly interested in applications that explore...

  • Environmental resilience, including sustainability, adaption in our cities and communities, climate science, and climate education
  • Climate innovation, including green energies, green technologies, and green economies
  • Activism and advocacy: Combatting climate anxiety promoting climate action, and fostering environmental advocacy
  • Climate justice: Just transitions, international relations, and policymaking for equitable climate solutions

Eligibility Requirements

To apply, you must:

  • Currently teach an undergraduate class that relates to climate action. 
  • Have the support of your home institution to adapt and co-teach this course as a virtual exchange.

Please note: Rather than creating a new course from scratch, applicants will adapt an existing course they currently teach. Co-teaching with your US or UK counterpart will take place virtually.

Award Benefits

A successful application will receive:

  • Honorarium: $7000/£5510 for the awardee (faculty member). This can be spent however faculty see fit. The honorarium will be paid out in two payments.
  • Institutional Support Fee: $3000/£2360 for the awardee’s higher education institution, payable upon completion of the professional development programme.
  • Travel Funding: Up to $7500/£5900 for the awardee and one administrative staff member to visit their partner institution in the US or UK.
  • Professional Development and Mentoring: Tailored COIL-modelled blended professional development and customized mentoring led by VE/COIL experts from AAC&U, designed for teaching faculty, instructional designers, and academic administrators.    

Visit our Global Challenges Teaching Awards page

to find out how to apply.

View other Global Challenges Teaching Awards

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Global Challenges Teaching Award - Peace and Justice