I recently shared an acknowledgement that deserves a fuller explanation: the development of Critsly was entirely supported by the Institute of AI in Education (IAIED), Singapore through an AIEDx Grant. IAIED also covered all of my expenses for attending AIED 2026 in Seoul.
Without that support, Critsly—and several related educational-AI applications I have built—would not have been possible in their present form. I am also grateful to Google for separate grant support for my broader work.
This is why early support matters. A promising idea in educational AI still needs time and resources to become a working, testable system: time to build, listen to users, clarify safeguards, document limitations, connect practice with research and improve through iteration.
What IAIED Singapore supported
Critsly is an artefact-aware critique workspace for design education and project-based learning. It keeps work in progress, design intentions, reflection, critique and action planning connected in one place. The aim is not to replace educators or human critique, but to make feedback easier to inspect, discuss and act upon.
The AIEDx support helped move this idea into a functioning platform. IAIED Singapore also enabled me to participate in AIED 2026, the 27th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, held in Seoul from 27 June to 3 July 2026.
The conference theme—“From Tools To Teammates: Human-AI Synergy For Augmented Learning”—closely reflected the question behind much of my work: how can AI contribute to learning while preserving human agency, educational judgement and accountability?
One naming distinction is important. The Institute of AI in Education (IAIED), Singapore provided the AIEDx Grant described here. AIED 2026 was organised by the separate International AI in Education (IAIED) Society. IAIED Singapore and the International IAIED Society are separate organisations, and AIEDx is not an AIED Society or AIED 2026 funding programme.
What are AIEDx Grants?
AIEDx Grants are an initiative of the Institute of AI in Education (IAIED), Singapore. Their stated purpose is to help promising ideas at the intersection of AI and education move from research into working applications.
IAIED invites enquiries about research, prototypes and educational applications with a clear learning or teaching purpose. Depending on the proposed work, support may include development resources, research activities or presentation costs.
The official AIEDx page does not announce a fixed public funding round, award amount, eligibility list or deadline. The scope, amount, eligible costs and duration of each award are considered individually and confirmed in writing. An enquiry therefore begins a conversation; it does not guarantee an award.
How to enquire about an AIEDx Grant
Prospective applicants can use the official AIEDx Grants page and enquiry form or email aiedx@mylearnomics.com.
Use this email subject:
AIEDx grant enquiry — [project title]
The initial enquiry should cover:
- You and the project — your name, affiliation or team, contact details, project title and a short summary.
- The educational need — who the project serves, the learning or teaching problem, how AI contributes and how you plan to evaluate the work.
- The support requested — proposed activities, budget, timeline, milestones, expected outputs and any other funding connected with the same work.
- Relevant materials — a non-confidential proposal, prototype, demonstration or prior work, where available.
- Terms to confirm — scope, permitted expenditure, deliverables, reporting and acknowledgement wording should be agreed in writing before relying on an award.
Begin with a concise, non-confidential summary. Do not include passwords, identifiable participant data, a confidential manuscript or sensitive research information in the first enquiry.
Because availability and conditions can change, ask IAIED to confirm current eligibility, funding limits, eligible costs and any deadline directly.
Why this kind of support matters
Educational AI needs more than model access. It requires a real educational purpose, a credible account of who benefits, appropriate human oversight, responsible data practices and evidence that matches the claims being made.
Early grants can create room to:
- investigate a genuine learning or teaching problem before scaling;
- build and test a working prototype;
- involve educators and learners in design and iteration;
- examine limitations and unintended consequences;
- document decisions, evidence and safeguards;
- connect development with a wider research community; and
- share what has been learned.
Critsly is one example of what that support can enable: movement from an idea about better critique to a working platform that can now be examined, challenged and improved.
I remain deeply grateful to IAIED Singapore for supporting Critsly and my participation in AIED 2026, and to Google for its separate support of my broader work.
When one door closes, another one opens. Keep going.
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