The Office of the Vice President for Learning and Teaching, in collaboration with UNIC, is delighted to launch the third round of a call to UCC staff members for Virtual and International Educational Projects – the VIP Fund. All UCC staff involved in teaching and the support of student learning are eligible to apply.  

UNIC is a European Universities alliance, connecting ten European universities in cities encountering post-industrial transition. It is co-funded by the European Union. The partners work collaboratively on shared teaching and learning innovation, student and staff mobility, city engagement and more.  

The VIP Fund aims to support virtual or blended international educational activities across UNIC university partners. Virtual Exchange refers to a set of learning activities that connect students and teachers from different locations by allowing them to collaborate on tasks or projects online. More detailed information and a step-by-step guidance on developing Virtual Exchange, as well as practice examples can be found in the UNIC Mobility Handbook from page 33 onwards. See a video showcasing a Virtual exchange initiative previously developed in UCC: Dignified Spaces: A UNIC Virtual Exchange Module (youtube.com).

Applicants are invited to apply for grants of up to €2,000 maximum per application.   

Interested applicants should consult the following:

• VIP Fund Application Form
• UNIC VIP Round 3 Call document
• UCC Information and Guidelines for UCC Applicants (Round 3 Local Annex) – please read.
• Submission Form

Applicants must ensure they consult all call documentation before making a submission. 

The deadline for applications is 23:59 Monday November 30th, 2026. Please note that the call may close before this date if remaining funds are allocated. With this in mind, please submit your application at your earliest convenience.    

If you have queries please contact vipfund@ucc.ie. 

Useful workshops as part of the UNIC InterTeach – Professional Development Programme which might be of interest to applicants: 

• April: How to Integrate Virtual Exchange into Your Course? (April 14, 12.00 -16.00)
• June: Explore International Co-Teaching – Integrating Virtual Exchange into the University Classroom (Session 1: June 8th 14.00-17.00, Session 2: June 15th 14.00-17.00)
• September: Explore Virtual Exchange - Collaborative Teaching and Learning in International Settings (Sept 11th, 09.30-12.00)