SCI Diversity and Inclusivity Fund

Application periods

• Summer – open from 3 April until 28 April. Awarded projects announced mid-May. For projects starting by December 2023.
• Winter  – opens 1 November 2023, closes 30 November 2023. Awarded projects announced mid-December 2023. For projects starting by June 2024.

Rules and conditions

• All projects must abide by the Aalto Code of Conduct.
• This funding is not intended to cover already existing activities.
• All accepted grants will require one of the team to write a news story for the Aalto University webpage about their project.
• The funding is open to all members of staff and students who are affiliated with the School of Science.
• The proposals will be evaluated based on potential impact, based on the level of support the project will provide, and the number of people it will reach.
  • We encourage projects that are not limited to one department or student guild;
  • An impactful project could provide a lot of help to a small group, or a small amount of help to a large group.
• Notice that the School of Electrical Engineering will have a corresponding Fund open at the same time in the spring. Projects involving both schools are encouraged.
• All projects will be considered, however to avoid duplicating efforts, collaboration may be suggested between two similar applications, or between an application and an already existing project.  
• Applications will be judged by a subcommittee of the School of Science EDI group and final decisions will be approved by the Dean.
• Salaries are funded only in very exceptional cases, so please contact us (information below) before sending your proposal if this is what you need funding for.
• The judging subcommittee are happy to consult and assist with proposals before submitting, and potential applicants are encouraged to talk with us before making a proposal. Please inform also your finance contact already when preparing the proposal.
• The School of Science Communications team will assist in promoting the project, but the main responsibility for promotion remains with the project teams.

Projects elected for funding earlier

• Puhutaan suomea: Lunch time meetings for personnel to practice Finnish
• Making Waves: Seminar series addressing the gender and diversity imbalance in academia
• Color of Science: Engaging Critical Perspectives from Scientists of Color
• The Painting Energies Podcast: Creating an experience-based podcast series on artscience
• Master's thesis on co-creative service design in context of LGBT+ minority (read about the author)
• The Feminist Futures Helsinki hackathon
• A DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) workshop for the Athene guild
• Kaleidoscope Cinema: a movie series on diversity topics
• Increasing minority representation through video exercise solutions