Public Engagement Co-Creation with Students Fund
Public Engagement Co-Creation with Students Fund
Introduction
Do you have a public engagement project in mind that you would like help developing? Would you like to provide paid work opportunities for students? With this fund, you can hire two students to work as co-creators in the development of your public engagement project.
Aims of this fund
- To provide students with paid employment and development opportunities in the field of public engagement.
- To support staff with the development of their public engagement projects.
Who can apply for this funding?
Any University of Warwick staff member can apply for this funding.
Please note that since August 2023 we have been operating a 2 strike policy for no shows at our externally led masterclasses. If you book a masterclass and do not attend without cancelling your place 7 days in advance you will receive a strike. After 2 strikes we will no longer allow you to book for our masterclasses, and you will be barred from applying to this fund until the following academic year.
What can the funding be spent on?
Almost all of the funding will be spent on hiring students as paid co-creators to support staff with the development of their public engagement projects. You can hire exactly two students as co-creators, to be line managed by you.
A small amount of funding may be spent on expenses the students encounter in the course of their jobs. For example, if they were required to travel to meet an external partner in Coventry or Warwickshire, they could claim their bus or train fare. Applicants should list anticipated travel expenses in their application and plan to avoid or minimise them as far as possible.
Successful applicants will not receive the funding: payment for students will be made by the Warwick Institute of Engagement via Unitemps, and payment of expenses will be made by the Warwick Institute of Engagement.
What else can I get funding for?
This fund only covers the above two things (paying the students and paying their expenses).
You are welcome to apply to our other funds. The application and review processes for each fund are separate; success in an application to one fund does not guarantee success in another.
How many students can I hire?
You can hire exactly two students. This is so that they have another student to work with rather than being the only student on a project team. Unfortunately we are unable to fund more than two students per project.
What is public engagement?
Please read our webpage about what public engagement is. It is very important to make clear in your application how the student jobs relate to public engagement as opposed to other kinds of engagement (e.g. policy/business/student/academic engagement), so please make clear who will be engaged with. The students don’t have to do engagement themselves, but they should be supporting the development of a project that has an end goal of public engagement. They should learn about aspects of public engagement through their work.
Student co-creator role types: what can I employ the students to do?
Role type 1: supporting design of a module involving public engagement.
To find out more about the tasks you could give a co-creator supporting the design of a module involving public engagement, see the draft job description here. In your application, you’ll be asked to indicate which parts of the job description you will retain and which parts you will change (if any).
Role type 2: designing new public engagement activities or materials.
To find out more about the tasks you could give a co-creator designing new public engagement activities or materials, see the draft job description here. In your application, you’ll be asked to indicate which parts of the job description you will retain and which parts you will change (if any).
Please note that students should be employed to support the design of activities or materials. They should not be employed through this fund to deliver the activities. This is because the vast majority of students at public engagement events/activities are there on a voluntary basis.
This fund will prioritise applications for roles that enable students to learn about and design public engagement as a two-way process between people inside and outside universities, therefore roles which are focused on editing podcasts or videos are unlikely to be funded.
Role type 3: supporting collaboration between a University of Warwick staff member and an external partner for public engagement.
NB the student must be line managed by and based with the Warwick staff member, not the external partner.
To find out more about the tasks you could give a co-creator supporting your collaboration with an external partner, see the draft job description here. In your application, you’ll be asked to indicate which parts of the job description you will retain and which parts you will change (if any).
Where can I find advice and guidance on working effectively with students?
Look at the Student Engagement Toolkit by the Student Experience team. The sections Collaborating and Working Effectively may be particularly helpful to you.
How many hours/weeks can the students work for?
Each student can work for up to 30 hours, spread over up to 10 weeks.
If you anticipate needing to spread the work over more than 10 weeks, please state the reasoning in your application as it has cost implications due to pay rate changes.
The students do not need to be involved for the entire length of your project; you can choose an aspect of it that they can contribute to for a period of up to 10 weeks.
Students must finish working by Sunday 12th July 2026 at the very latest.
When can the students start working?
We advise that you plan for the students to start work no sooner than two months after the application deadline. This is to allow time for: application review (approx. 3 weeks), advertising, recruiting and onboarding.
Due to the university closure in December, for the first application round a more realistic start date would be mid-February.
How much will the students be paid?
The students will be paid at FA4. You can check the hourly rate here: current salary scales.
How will the students be paid?
The students will be employed and paid by Unitemps. Funding will go directly from the Warwick Institute of Engagement to Unitemps; applicants will not receive the funding.
How can I set up the jobs with Unitemps? Will there be any support with this?
WIE will set up the jobs with Unitemps and support you with advertising and onboarding. If you need help with selecting candidates (e.g. you need an interview panel member) then we may be able to help with that too, dependent on staff capacity. If your application is successful, we'll talk you through the next steps and support you with the administration required to get students hired and ready to work.
How many times can I receive funding?
You can receive funding once in an academic year.
I have more questions - who can I talk to?
Please have a look at the application questions as they may address some of your queries. If you have any further questions, please contact Helen Luckhurst at
Fund dates
The next application deadline is Friday 28th November 2025. The outcome of your application will be communicated to you in the week commencing 15th December.
The fund will reopen in January, with an application deadline of Friday 27th February.
If there is money remaining in the fund after that, it will reopen in March, with an application deadline of Friday 1st May.
Application process
When you are ready to apply, start here. The first page asks for some contact and monitoring information; this will not be used to judge your application. The second page is the application form. While logged in, you will be able to save your progress on the form. If you require any help with accessing the application form or you notice a glitch, please contact Helen Luckhurst at .
The questions on the form are detailed to help you write a strong application.
You are required to submit proof of your line manager's approval - please check the final question on the application form for more information.
Review process
Your application will be read by a review panel who will decide which applications to award funding to.
You will hear the outcome of your application within three weeks. Feedback will be given to all applicants.