Office for Experiential Learning Project Fund

Office for Experiential Learning Project Fund is sponsored by UC Irvine Office for Experiential Learning. Supports engineering student projects, teams, and organizations at UC Irvine.

Office for Experiential Learning Project Fund Skip to primary navigation The Office for Experiential Learning Projects Fund (OEL-PF) has been established to support engineering student projects, teams, or organizations. These funds are to enable and expand the teams’ creative activities and to bring national/international recognition to The School. The OEL-PF is released twice a year: the OEL-PF: Seed and the OEL-PF: Finish Line.

The Office for Experiential Learning Project Fund: Finish Line is now taking applications! This request for proposals (RFP) is made possible by the Samueli School of Engineering Dean’s Office and generous donors.

The Office for Experiential Learning Projects Fund (OEL-PF): Finish Line provides select engineering student projects, teams, or organizations with late-stage support to strengthen outcomes, maximize impact, and finalize projects. The goal is to support innovation and creativity that will ultimately bring national or international recognition to The School.

Awardees may use OEL-PF: Finish Line funds for a range of late-stage needs, including but not limited to project materials, finalizing development, competition expenses, and other resources and supplies that are essential for helping student teams and groups achieve their goals. While all relevant Finish Line requests will be considered, funding requests for competition travel will be prioritized.

The OEL-PF: Finish Line will not cover 100% of any given team’s travel expenses. Funds may not be used for direct or indirect team member compensation. Undergraduate engineering student groups may request up to $2000 for their projects, with the requirement that a one-to-one cost share is secured.

For example, to request $1000, the student group must have already secured $1000 matching funds through either external fundraising or support from their academic home departments. Teams are expected to have attempted to raise external funds. Course Materials Fees cannot be used as matching funds.

These matching funds must have been raised during the same academic year as the request. Carry-over funds from a previous academic year may not be used as matching funds. Matching funds used for the OEL-PF: Seed fund may not be used again for this cost-share requirement.

If awarded funding, teams will be required to submit a report detailing how the funds were used and the progress achieved. The OEL-PF: Finish Line is managed through the Office for Experiential Learning in the Samueli School of Engineering.

Proposals will be evaluated based on: The quality of all aspects of the submitted document Viability and potential for high impact How many engineering students will directly benefit from the funds How the funds will be used to elevate the group’s activities The creative and intellectual merit of the proposed project The clarity of goals and plan for execution Demonstrated plans that enhance the reputation of The School The team’s current and projected financial standing and immediate need for funds The team’s responsible and effective use of any prior OEL-PF awards A limited number of proposals will be funded.

Be sure to read and follow all instructions. Thoughtful proposals that meet the evaluation criteria, demonstrate attention to detail, and follow all instructions will be reviewed more favorably. Questions: oel-eng@uci.

edu Proposal Due Date: March 13, 2026 Award Announcement: Early April, 2026 To apply, please complete the proposal template below and send to oel-eng@uci. edu . RFP_OEL-PF_FinishLine Download Frequently Asked Questions When and how often does the OEL-PF happen?

What is the difference between the Seed and Finish Line? The Office for Experiential Learning Project Fund (OEL-PF) is released twice a year. The Seed Fund is released in the Fall.

This fund is designed to help kick-start engineering student projects, teams, or organizations by providing early-stage support. The Finish Line Fund is released late Winter. This fund supports established student projects, teams, or organizations that need final-stage resources.

Who can apply for the OEL-PF? All engineering student organizations and project teams are welcome to apply for the OEL-PF. OEL-PF Template Questions How do I show proof of funding/cost-share?

Screenshots of emails, Zotfunders, accounts, and budget sheets will suffice. For the requirement “matching funds must have been raised during the same academic year as the request”, what counts as this academic year? The answer varies depending on the student org/project team and how they operate.

For project teams that go to competition, we are looking at funds raised during their current design cycle of the project. Any funds that were made before their most recent/last academic year’s competition are considered carry-over funds. The template asks for a faculty advisor’s signature.

What if our advisor is not faculty? Advisors can be graduate students, staff, or faculty. Your advisor must be from the School of Engineering.

Post-ELPF Award Questions How do I submit a Purchasing Request? For purchase orders, complete a purchase request here: Purchasing Requests | Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine . The shipping address should be your home department’s address.

If you do not regularly have items shipped to your department, speak to them first about the process. Note that it is possible to use purchase requests to pre-pay housing and transportation costs. You must list Uni Nguyen (nguyensu@uci.

edu) as the PI/Approver. How do I submit a Reimbursement Request? Reimbursement is only allowed for travel expenses or items needed last minute and picked up locally.

You cannot be reimbursed for items shipped to you. The reimbursement process is documented here: Reimbursements | Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine . You must list Uni Nguyen (nguyensu@uci.

edu) as the PI/Approver. If I purchased something before my team received an award, could the ELPF reimburse it? Supplies and items purchased before receiving the award will not be reimbursed.

However, travel expenses purchased before receiving the award may be reimbursed. Does our spending of the ELPF award have to exactly match the budget we proposed? (i.e. spending more or less on a category or item than what was written in the proposal) Your proposed OEL-PF expenditures are a significant factor in our review process.

Award recipients are expected to use the funds as described in their approved proposal. However, we may approve certain changes as long as you do not stray too far from your proposed budget, your fund usage still benefits the team, and you discuss the reasoning with us. What purchases can be reimbursed?

All travel and entertainment expenses go through reimbursement. For supplies, only last-minute and local pick-up can be reimbursed or if the item is small ( <$500 with shipping and handling included). What vendors are approved for purchasing requests?

UCI allows purchases from a large percentage of online and quote-based suppliers. However, auction websites, like eBay, are restricted and would require detailed explanations and pre-approval from accounting to process orders (no guarantee they will approve it). Alibaba/Aliexpress are not allowed with little to no exceptions.

How long does it take for a reimbursement or purchasing request to finish processing? After submitting your reimbursement or purchasing request, OEL will review your submission and approve it. Once approved by OEL, it is sent to the Purchasing and Reimbursement team where a team member will fill the order.

This process can take as little as a day to over a week depending on the workload of the team member and the complexity of the request. After the Purchasing and Reimbursement team member officially submits the order, the process is in its final stage in the system which, again, can either be very quick or take a week to complete. What is the deadline to use the funds?

Funds must be used by the end of the fiscal year. We will not approve any purchasing or reimbursement requests after June 30th.