JISC build Stairway to Heaven

February 22, 2012JISC, TechWatch Standard

JISC Elevator
Well, not quite… But the new JISC Elevator is a really interesting angle on funding within the HE context, inspired by the emerging trend in the wider tech world for crowdsourcing / crowdfunding.

Here’s the press release:

Bright ideas wanted for new JISC funding platform

 Do you have a smart idea for using technology in your college or university?  If you’re looking for rapid project funding, pitch your idea on a new JISC website and receive feedback from your peers.

 The JISC Elevator is a new beta platform for people to pitch ideas for projects up to £10,000 using video and short descriptions.

 Once an idea has been submitted to the site, people working and studying in UK higher and further education will be able to vote if they like the idea.

 When an idea receives the target number of votes then JISC will decide whether or not to fund the idea.

 Visit the JISC Elevator <http://elevator.jisc.ac.uk/>

 Andrew McGregor, who is managing the JISC Elevator trial, said: “JISC’s remit is to fund cutting edge innovation – so we hope that by creating a different platform for bidding we’ll be able to capture the brainwaves of many more people in colleges and universities, perhaps people who haven’t previously bid for JISC funds.  The voting mechanisms on the Elevator will also allow us to respond directly to what’s important for people in further and higher education.”

 The JISC Elevator is open to all kinds of ideas, with suggestions including:

•     Innovate with e-books

•     Start a student led project

•     Open a can of worms – propose a technical project that starts a big conversation in your institution

•     Use gaming principles to improve research or teaching processes

•     Apply work previously funded by JISC to your own situation

•     Create online services to help students make decisions about university

•     Develop cloud solutions to account for and monitor cloud security

 For details on what kinds of idea we are looking for please see the submission criteria:

<http://elevator.jisc.ac.uk/content/about-elevator#criteria>

 Successful projects will be notified in April and expected to complete by the end of July 2012.

 Visit the JISC Elevator <http://elevator.jisc.ac.uk/>

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