EPIIC cohort members, Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) and University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) are primarily undergraduate institutions (PUI) that are also heavily teaching-focused. Our campuses have contrasting characteristics (public vs private, metropolitan NYC vs outstate Minnesota, Hispanic Serving Institution vs ties to Native American community) and commonalities (campus leadership transitions, overshadowing by regional R1 institutions, emphasis on undergraduate instruction) that set the stage for our cohort’s work to increase our capacity for partnerships in alignment with our institutional strategic plans.
While we recognize that a research-oriented faculty with ties to regional business can provide opportunities for applied training and workforce development while decreasing dependence on tuition revenue, the immediate-term challenges of developing research ties with private sector partners can be daunting for faculty, who, without additional support, are unable to fully participate in our regional research ecosystems. To this end, our project goals for capacity-building and expanding partnerships for both institutions fall into four broad categories of Collaborate, Advance, Facilitate, and Empower:
Goal 1: Create collaborative opportunities for engagement within our individual institutions and with each other for engagement with industry partners.
Goal 2: Advance institutional visibility and the promotion and development of faculty expertise.
Goal 3: Support the foundational infrastructure and facilitate the enhancement of the research enterprise.
Goal 4: Empower faculty, staff, and students with tools needed to obtain external funding.
Our long-term project goal is to provide FDU and UMD with sustainable support for the capacity-building tools and resources necessary for building campus structures that foster meaningful partnerships with industry, and facilitate participation in the regional innovation ecosystem.
University of Minnesota Duluth
With this EPIIC grant, UMD has set the following capacity-building goals for building sustainable collaborations with external partners:
Consolidate various disparate research resources under one common umbrella to improve visibility and accessibility to all faculty and staff.
Develop significant innovation partnership opportunities through increasing networking opportunities by incentivizing external partnerships, providing seed funding for external collaborative projects, and understanding barriers to collaboration from external partners.
These goals align directly with UMD’s Strategic Plan to advance UMD’s regional, national, and international reputation for high-quality and impactful research, scholarly, and creative activities , as well as advance UMD’s profile as an intentional and pivotal partner for Duluth, the Northland, and Minnesota.
Fairleigh Dickinson University
FDU’s goals for capacity-building and expanding partnerships fall into 4 broad categories: Collaborate, Advance, Facilitate and Empower.
Goal 1: Create collaborative opportunities for engagement within FDU that increase interdisciplinary opportunities for funding with engagement industry partners.
Goal 2: Advance FDUs visibility and ability to successfully engage with Industry Partners
Goal 3: Facilitate the capacity and infrastructure of Grants and Sponsored Projects (GSP)
Goal 4: Empower FDU faculty, staff and students with tools needed to obtain external funding.
Key activities during the three-year period include opportunities for seed grant funding, workshops and trainings, professional development support, research infrastructure enhancements, opportunities for collaboration with industry partners, and opportunities to enhance cross-institutional research capacity.
