Comenius Programme for Higher Education
Funds Dutch higher education professionals through teaching innovation fellowships and instructional excellence work.
The Comenius Programme for Higher Education is OCW's teaching-innovation fellowship line for professionals at Dutch HBO and WO institutions, administered by NKO. It funds individual educators and leaders who want to change teaching practice rather than general institutional operations. Three fellowship tiers carry distinct award sizes: Teaching Fellow at €50,000 for one year, Senior Fellow at €100,000 for two years, and Leadership Fellow at €500,000. The 2026 cycle follows an annual rhythm, with letter-of-intent deadlines in September 2025 and later proposal stages running into early 2026. Thematic lines cover future forms of education, diversity and inclusion, labour-market connection, and a free theme, while applicants are limited to one main application per year across Comenius, SoTL, and Scale-up. The programme fits higher-education staff who can show a concrete teaching problem and a credible route to classroom or programme-level change. It is not open to companies or independent researchers, and proposals tend to be strongest when the applicant can tie innovation to institutionally grounded practice and an obvious student-facing result.
No upcoming rounds verified. Cadence: Annual.