Institute Themes

The following thematic areas will inform the Institute’s design sessions and team mentoring:

1) Defining and Assessing Skills for Equitable Career Preparation
Guiding Questions:

• How can we more effectively align industry relevant skills with campus learning outcomes?
• What are effective ways for measuring workforce preparation?
• What are strategies for linking evidence of students’ learning and career preparation to empower student narratives, campus planning, and industry needs?

2) Developing and Scaling Equitable High-Impact Experiences for Career Success
Guiding Questions:

• How can we ensure all students have access to high-quality, workforce preparation experiences (e.g., ePortfolios, Internships, community-based engagement and global learning)?
• What are strategies for developing strengths-based approaches to career preparation, particularly for underserved students?
• What are effective strategies developing equity-focused approaches, particularly around career advising and mentorship, to support equity in career preparation?

3) Promoting and Supporting Interdisciplinary Design Thinking
Guiding Questions:

• How can we more effectively highlight the arts and humanities as integral for career preparation?
• How do we create and sustain meaningful collaboration across interdisciplinary and cross-divisional teams?
• What are ways to navigate and manage change in order to move beyond mandates to a shared vision and collective ownership?

4) Advancing Models for Effective Campus/Industry Partnerships
Guiding Questions:

• What are the approaches, models, and opportunities for defining and designing innovative campus/industry partnerships?
• What are the common threads across case studies of effective partnerships that point to increased probabilities for success, engagement, equity, and sustainability?
• How can we translate successful campus/industry models to fit our unique campus context and culture?