The School of Business Administration (SBA) at the American University in Dubai has recently announced a novel type of grant aimed at promoting innovative mentoring activities between full-time faculty members and undergraduate students. Referred to as the Faculty-Student Mentorship Grant (the FSM Grant) this initiative gives room for collaborative research efforts, as well as other activities targeting the enhancement of the students' learning outcomes.

"The Faculty-Student Mentorship (FSM) grant highlights the importance that AUD places on enhancing the educational experience of both undergraduate and graduate students. Through this grant, students are able to work side-by-side with faculty members that are engaged in state-of-the-art business research. They may also actively participate in the development of regionally focused case studies, to be utilized in both undergraduate and graduate courses. Hence, the FSM grant synergizes three key aspects of any forward looking business program: teaching, research, and mentoring," said Dr Dwayne Banks, Dean of the School of Business.

Recipients of the FSM Grants are expected to submit a final draft of their research results to the FSM Grant Review Committee within six weeks of the end of the funding cycle, and present their findings at an SBA seminar, to be held during the 2007-2008 academic year. The submitted material will be produced as an SBA Working Paper, co-authored by both the faculty-mentor and the student.

Two-thirds of the funds awarded will be allocated for the payment of the student research assistants' salaries, whereas the remaining one-third may be utilized by faculty members for the purchase of small equipment, books, supplies, and software.

The SBA did ascribe certain conditions for the proposal's preparation and the criteria on which it will be selected. Clarity, likelihood of being published, and edifying impact on the intellectual body of faculty members, are characteristics of an adequate proposal. Further to the just-mentioned features, the enhancement of the teaching and learning effectiveness, and the professional capacity of the mentored student (the research assistant) have to be analogous to the objective of the proposal.

The responsibility of the grant recipient is embodied in handling and tracking the accounts of all funds dispersed for the grant, and supplying the Dean of the School of Business Administration , Dr. Dwayne Banks, with a weekly timesheet for each student research assistant. Any funds left in a project account, after its completion, will be retrieved to the SBA Faculty Development Fund.

Faculty Members are eligible to apply if they are full-time faculty members of the School of Business Administration . As to the undergraduate students, they must be enrolled for the full-time program, with a minimum GPA of 2.5, to be academically fit for the FSM Grant program.