The AI in Education Seed Grants – Learning Innovation Greenhouse is a program of the NYU AI Institute* and the Office of the Vice Provost for AI and Technology in Education. The program is designed to support faculty in the design, piloting, and evaluation of innovative uses of artificial intelligence to enhance and augment student learning.
The program provides seed funding and structured support to faculty interested in developing and testing AI-enabled educational interventions in authentic instructional settings at NYU.
The goal of the program is to support faculty in moving from promising ideas or early prototypes toward carefully designed and assessed educational innovations. These may include, for example, AI-supported learning activities, feedback systems, tutoring or coaching supports, simulations, discipline-specific tools, student-facing learning aids, or course workflows aimed at improving learning, engagement, access, personalization, or instructional effectiveness. The program places particular emphasis on educationally meaningful uses of AI that respond to clearly identified instructional needs.
Selected projects may receive up to $20,000 in seed funding. Funds may be used for:
faculty summer salary
teaching or research assistants to support pilot implementation
participant compensation, when appropriate
other relevant expenses
In addition to financial support, selected faculty will have access to pedagogical, technological, and evaluation support from experts affiliated with the NYU AI Institute. This may include instructional design consultation, technical guidance for selecting and integrating AI tools, and support in developing evaluation approaches to examine implementation, effectiveness, and potential for scale.
Selected projects will receive access to NYU Research and Instruction computational infrastructure and NYU-provided AI models and tools. If specific needs are justified, seed funding may be used to obtain access to external generative models. Regardless of the technology employed, all projects must comply with FERPA requirements for the protection of student data.
While the initial focus of this round is on science and technology courses across NYU, faculty from all areas are welcome to apply. Future rounds are expected to expand across disciplines and levels of project maturity.
Interested faculty are invited to submit a brief application describing their proposed innovation. The application should address:
the learning problem or opportunity being addressed
the proposed AI-enabled intervention
how the intervention will be implemented in practice
the approach to evaluating its implementation and outcomes
Applications should make clear the educational relevance of the proposed work and the type of evidence that will be gathered to assess its value.
Application Form: https://forms.gle/5YsPD9m2WcW37drKA
Faculty selected for the program will work in partnership with the Seed Grant team to carry out the proposed design, pilot, and evaluation activities in alignment with the program timeline. This will typically include periodic check-ins (approximately monthly), as well as documentation of the development and implementation process.
A central feature of the program is its emphasis on generating knowledge that extends beyond the initial pilot. Participating faculty are encouraged to share insights, practices, and evaluation outcomes with the broader NYU community, contributing to collective learning and ongoing educational improvement. Faculty may also choose to develop scholarly outputs arising from their work.
Most projects will follow a three-stage timeline, with some variation depending on the nature of the proposed innovation:
Summer 2026: Design and development
Fall 2026: Pilot implementation in an instructional setting
Spring 2027: Evaluation and reporting
Selected faculty would be anticipated to begin their work in June 2026.
During this initial call, priority will be given to proposals that align with the following considerations:
Target Area: Emphasis will be placed on courses in the Science and Technology fields
Level of Maturity: Preference will be given to proposals that either have a working prototype or present a clear and feasible implementation plan within the available timeframe
Future rounds of funding are anticipated to expand to additional disciplinary areas and projects at varying stages of development.
Proposals will be considered in relation to the following factors:
Alignment with the priorities of the current funding round
Significance of the educational problem or opportunity being addressed
Clarity and promise of the proposed innovation
Appropriateness of the AI-enabled approach
Feasibility of implementation
Quality of the proposed evaluation plan
Potential relevance for broader learning and adaptation across NYU
Call opens: May 5, 2026
Application deadline: May 25, 2026
Notification of awards: June 1, 2026
Project start: June 2026
For questions, please contact: Olaedo Ekechukwu (oge216@nyu.edu)
*NYU AI Institute
NYU AI Institute is a new Institute established by the Provost and the Executive Vice President for Global Science and Technology. The NYU AI Institute will be a university-wide cross-school platform for advancing AI research, education, and institutional strategy across NYU, aiming to complement and support school-based efforts in AI. Additional information on the Institute will be available soon.