2026 BER News and Events
Last Update: September 25, 2026
The fall semester is off to a lively start with several research showcase and training events, and some new grant programs on novel topics including “Humanity AI” and “Digital Justice.” If any of these events or solicitations seem relevant to your work, please reach out to ber@education.illinois.edu to discuss. Deadlines still seem to be getting shorter and shorter, so reach out early!
Research Events
- NCSA Research Open House, Tuesday, 9/29/26, 3:30-5:30pm, NCSA, 1205 W Clark St., Urbana. Gain insight into NCSA's expertise, services, and ongoing projects, hear from NCSA directorates, engage with research groups to learn how NCSA resources and expertise can support your research, explore potential collaborations. Visit NCSA announcement for order of events and to Register.
- International and Area Studies and Humanities Meet and Greet. Wednesday, 9/30/26, 3:30-4:30 pm, Main Library, Room 220. Socialize with faculty, staff, students, and other U. of I. community members interested in international studies and the humanities.
- Budgeting for Research, Thursday, 10/1/26, 11:30-1:00 pm, 22 Education. BER, in Collaboration with Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs. Effective research budgeting, thoughtful project planning, personnel, timelines, resources, budget decisions. BER staff will discuss the mechanics of developing proposal budgets, navigating university processes, and answering your budgeting questions so you can move your research from idea to implementation with confidence. Click here for more information.
- Beckman Institute NIH Training Grants Workshop, Tuesday, 10/6/26, 12:30 - 5pm. Join Jaclyn Schurman, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders program officer, and other faculty members for a training grants workshop. See the full agenda and register by Monday, Sept. 28.
- Beyond Borders Global Mental Health Research and Services Conference, 10/8-10/9, 2026. School of Social Work two-day virtual gathering designed to foster connection, collaboration, and learning across geographic and cultural boundaries. This year's program features themed panel discussions to explore some of the most pressing issues in global mental health. Learn more and register.
- Developing & Managing a Research Team or Lab, Thursday, 10/15/26,11:30-1:00 pm, 22 Education. BER, In Collaboration with Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs. Whether you're building your first research team or expanding an established lab, effective leadership matters. Explore strategies for recruiting, mentoring, organizing workflows, fostering a collaborative research culture.
Training Opportunities and Resources
- Savvy Researcher workshop series from University Library. 60+ sessions on tools for collecting and analyzing qualitative data, copyright, AI tools, and more. List of currently available workshops with descriptions. Savvy Researcher calendar posts upcoming workshop sessions.
- Illinois REDCap fall office hours: Tuesdays this fall, 10-11am. Have a question about your REDCap project? Wondering if REDCap will work for your research project? Drop in for remote REDCap office hours. Sign up to receive Zoom details.
- CITL Data Analytics Group, Fall 2026 Statistics, Survey and Data Consulting Services. Supports R, SPSS, STATA, SAS, Python, Qualtrics, and Alchemer. Via Zoom and in person.
- Siebel Center for Design. SHIFT: Scholars in Human-Centered, Innovative, and Forward-Thinking Teaching. Fall 2026 professional learning series for educators ready to humanize learning and lead systemic change, includes 11/5/26 session on Designing Research Projects. Visit SHIFT website for details.
Research Funding
- Humanity AI. Open Call for Proposals: Communities Leading on AI. Supports communities’ collective power to shape how AI is built, governed, and used. Issues areas include education; labor and economy; humanities, arts, and culture. (1) View the Humanity AI program webinar; (2) Consider submitting a campus Expression of Interest form, due 10/5/26. (3) Contact Robb Lindgren or Beth Niswander for more information. Initial Applications due 10/24/26.
- NSF STEM K-12. Fundamental, applied, and translational research that advances STEM teaching and learning and improves understanding of education across the human lifespan and a range of formal and informal settings. Rolling deadline.
- Expected Fall IES Funding Announcements: IES may announce these on accelerated timelines: (1) Early October: NCER From Seedlings to Scale, and NCSER Transformational Research in Special Education. (2) December: NCER Research Grants NCSER Research Grants. Details and dates TBA; we will broadcast details as soon as available.
- ACLS Digital Justice Grants- Seed Grants and Development Grants. Projects at various stages of development that diversify the digital domain, advance justice and equity in digital scholarly practice, and/or contribute to public understanding of racial and social justice issues. Due 11/3/2026.
- NSF Research on Advanced Technological Education. The education of technicians for high-technology fields, involving partnerships between academic institutions (grades 7-12, IHEs), industry, and economic development agencies. Due 10/8/26.
- NSF Mathematical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence. Establish innovative and principled design and analysis approaches for AI technology, yielding explainable and interpretable models that can enable sustainable, socially responsible, and trustworthy AI. Due 10/9/26.
- NSF Grants for Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) in Engineering and Computer Science. Deadline: October 14, 2025. $600,000 over up to 3 years.
- NSF EDU Core Research (ECR: Core). Research on STEM education in one or more of three research areas: STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. Due 10/8/26.
- National Academy of Education. NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowships. Encourages new generations of scholars to undertake research that improves education and supports early-career scholars who work in critical areas of the field. Due 10/8/26.