Tag: Innovation

  • How a Napkin Sketch Can Unlock Higher Ed Innovation at Your Institution

    How a Napkin Sketch Can Unlock Higher Ed Innovation at Your Institution

    In higher education, it’s easy to feel stuck.

    You know something isn’t working — maybe enrollment processes are clunky, or student support services feel disconnected. You’ve tried new tools, updated systems, created initiatives to create change, and added staff, but the problem persists.  It’s like there’s a giant boulder in your way, and no matter how hard you push, it doesn’t budge.

    It turns out, you don’t need a bulldozer – just a napkin sketch to start building momentum to move the boulder standing in the way.

    It’s a surprisingly simple concept, using visual design thinking exercises to help colleges and universities get unstuck. Not with more tech, or a fancy AI solution, but with more clarity to understand how things work today to create a framework for change tomorrow.

    Because real innovation in higher education doesn’t come from software or a technology — it starts with understanding the systems and the processes you already have so you can visualize what they could be.

    What is a napkin sketch?

    The napkin sketch is exactly what it sounds like: a back-of-the-napkin-style drawing that quickly maps out how a particular process actually works in your institution so it can be reimagined.

    It’s low-tech, but high-impact.

    Think of it as building a gameboard for players to play. Like a Monopoly board, everyone knows the players, the rules, and the steps. It makes the choices that need to be made for each player’s turn clear.  When these choices are laid out visually, it becomes much easier to pinpoint where the real opportunities (and challenges) are.

    What does the napkin sketch exercise entail?

    I usually start these sessions by asking one simple questions with a key follow-up

    • What’s the opportunity for ‘impact’? (What are you trying to accomplish?)
    • What’s preventing progress?

    Then we get to work. Together, we sketch out the entire process: from first interaction to the final outcome. We account for every step, system, and stakeholder that’s involved. We highlight the costs, the tools and technology handoffs, potential delays, and where things might be falling through the cracks.

    We typically conduct the sketch in a virtual drawing space, where we can collaborate in real time to map out the full process. It’s not about polished visuals — it’s about building a shared understanding of how things operate today.

    And in about 60-90 minutes, we always have at least one person in the group say out loud “I didn’t realize that’s how it actually works.” And another will inevitably ask “You’re going to send us this napkin sketch, right? I want to print it out.”

    Ready for a Smarter Way Forward?

    Higher ed is hard — but you don’t have to figure it out alone. We can help you transform challenges into opportunities.

    What can the napkin sketch reveal?

    In our experience working with hundreds of institutions of all shapes and sizes, we’ve found that many face surprisingly similar challenges. This exercise consistently shines a light on hidden opportunities, creating a blueprint for change.

    Common things we uncover include:

    • Manual, repetitive tasks that could be automated or streamlined
    • Workarounds that have become permanent fixtures without anyone questioning them
    • Disconnects between departments, systems, or technologies
    • Operational silos that prevent teams from seeing the full picture or collaborating effectively
    • Missed opportunities to better track, analyze, or act on data
    • Unclear ownership of key steps in the process

    In short, the napkin sketch helps institutions see what’s really going on — and what needs to change to move forward.

    Why does it work?

    Higher ed innovation often stalls because teams are too close to the problem or too deep in their own silo to see the bigger picture. The napkin sketch breaks through that by creating a space for everyone involved to step back and collaborate.

    Here’s why it’s effective:

    • It’s fast — most sessions take an hour or two.
    • It’s visual — helping teams align quickly and clearly.
    • It’s collaborative — bringing together voices from across departments.
    • It’s actionable — revealing next steps that are grounded in reality.

    Most importantly, it shifts the focus away from jumping to solutions and toward understanding the system. Once you understand the system, smart solutions become much more obvious — and effective.

    Real examples of the napkin sketch in action

    Whether it’s enrollment workflows, transcript processing, student communications, or data handoffs between systems or teams, the napkin sketch exercise can help untangle a wide variety of operational challenges. No two institutions are exactly alike, but many face similar complexities — manual processes, siloed teams, and unclear ownership that stall progress.

    Here are a few discoveries we uncovered in recent napkin sketch sessions I’ve led:

    • One institution realized how many steps were involved in processing transcripts — with staff toggling between platforms, uploading the same file in multiple places, and doing manual comparisons. Once the process was mapped, we explored how AI could handle the course match evaluations — saving hours of staff time each week.
    • Another team sketched out their enrollment outreach process and discovered they were sending multiple conflicting messages to students at the same time. The sketch helped them realign their communications and reduce student confusion.
    • A third school wanted to integrate a new tool into their tech stack, but the sketch revealed that the underlying workflow was broken — and that no tool would help until the foundational process was improved.

    In each case, the aha moment didn’t come from buying something new — it came from clearly seeing what was already happening so it could be improved upon.

    What could your napkin sketch uncover?

    If you’re wrestling with outdated processes, disconnected systems, or unclear handoffs — you’re not alone. Many institutions are trying to drive higher ed innovation with limited resources and overwhelming complexity.

    But you don’t need to have all the answers right now. You just need a clearer view of the problem so you can develop a thoughtful solution.

    That’s what the napkin sketch offers: a simple, collaborative way to map your reality, uncover opportunity, and take a smarter next step forward.

    Let’s sketch it out — and see what we find!

    Ready to uncover what’s holding you back?

    Reach out to schedule your own session and take the first step toward smarter solutions.

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  • Strategies to help girls stay engaged in STEM learning

    Strategies to help girls stay engaged in STEM learning

    Key points:

    • When girls participate in STEM learning, the future is more inclusive
    • 5 practical ways to integrate AI into high school science
    • Linking STEM lessons to real-world applications
    • For more news on STEM learning, visit eSN’s STEM & STEAM hub

    Encouraging girls to engage in STEM is vital for fostering diversity, innovation, and equal opportunities in these fields. Women remain underrepresented in STEM degrees and in careers, often due to societal stereotypes, lack of representation, and limited access to resources.

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    Want to share a great resource? Let us know at submissions@eschoolmedia.com.

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  • Could Trump’s tariffs end up spurring green innovation?

    Could Trump’s tariffs end up spurring green innovation?

    U.S. President Donald Trump has never been a champion of the environment. From gutting climate policies to rolling back crucial environmental protections, the track record of the U.S. president speaks for itself. 

    But his announcement this month of steep tariffs on a sweeping range of foreign-made goods intended to boost U.S. production may also inadvertently fuel a global shift toward green innovation and a more sustainable future.

    During his first term, Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement, slashed pollution regulations and gave the fossil fuel industry a free pass. One of his most controversial moves was opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling — a pristine, ecologically-sensitive area home to polar bears, caribou and Indigenous communities that depend on the land.

    Now, he’s back — and this time, his weapon of choice is tariffs. The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on all imports from China, Mexico and Canada, as well as on steel, aluminium and cars from around the world.

    By targeting key imports like clean energy components and critical minerals, Trump’s latest trade war threatens to derail climate progress, drive up costs for renewable energy and push the United States further into fossil fuel dependence. The damage is real and the consequences could be catastrophic.

    Tariffs could hamper climate change efforts.

    The implementation of broad tariffs is poised to significantly hinder efforts against climate change and weaken environmental legislation. Here’s how:​

    Disruption of clean energy supply chains: The tariffs, particularly those targeting imports from China like steel, aluminium and lithium directly affect the availability and cost of clean technology components. For instance, the United States imports a substantial amount of lithium batteries from China — $1.9 billion worth in December 2024 alone. Increased tariffs on these imports could raise costs for renewable energy projects and electric vehicles, slowing the transition to cleaner energy sources. ​

    The energy sector is already grappling with shortages of essential parts. New tariffs exacerbate this issue, making it more challenging to procure necessary components for renewable energy infrastructure. This could delay projects and increase reliance on fossil fuels, counteracting efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ​

    Strain on environmental initiatives: The stock market’s negative reaction to the tariff announcements, with the Dow Jones dropping nearly 1,700 points and erasing approximately $3.1 trillion in market value, indicates broader economic instability. Such financial turmoil can lead to reduced funding and support for environmental programs, as both public and private sectors may prioritize immediate economic concerns over long-term environmental goals. ​

    As Trump imposes tariffs, his administration is also rolling back environmental protections. His Environmental Protection Agency is now questioning a key 2009 ruling that classifies greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide as harmful to human health. If the courts overturn it, this could weaken U.S. climate laws and make it harder to fight climate change.

    Unintended consequences

    While Trump’s tariffs largely threaten climate progress in the United States, they could have unintended environmental benefits elsewhere.

    Boosting green manufacturing in other countries: If U.S. tariffs make Chinese solar panels, batteries and EV components more expensive, other countries — especially in Europe, India and Latin America — may ramp up their own clean energy production. China itself may increase investment and focus on domestic EV adoption, hydrogen technology or battery recycling. 

    This could lead to a more diversified and resilient global supply chain for renewable technologies, while also strengthening domestic energy resilience by encouraging countries to develop and secure their own clean energy resources, reducing reliance on foreign imports.

    Strengthening regional trade alliances for green tech: With the imposing trade barriers, countries looking to avoid tariffs might strengthen regional partnerships, such as the EU-India green energy collaboration or China’s push to supply African and Latin American markets with solar and wind technology. This could decentralize the clean energy economy, reducing reliance on any single country.

    Reducing export-driven deforestation: If tariffs make U.S. imports of commodities like beef, palm oil and timber more expensive, countries that export these products (e.g., Brazil, Indonesia) may face declining demand. Less demand equals less incentive to clear forests for agriculture.

    On the other hand, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), adopted in June 2023, aims to block imports of commodities linked to deforestation unless they can be verified as deforestation-free. The EU is a huge consumer of these commodities. 

    With two major markets (U.S. and EU) becoming less profitable for deforestation-linked goods, exporters might change their practices to comply with stricter regulations. This could encourage more sustainable supply chains.

    However, this would depend on whether other countries, like China, pick up the slack and implement EUDR-like regulations.

    Backing off petroleum

    If trade wars escalate and tariffs disrupt global markets, long-term investments in fossil fuel projects could become riskier due to economic uncertainty. Tariffs on fossil fuel-related goods — like equipment, machinery or raw materials — can increase production costs for oil and gas companies. 

    As the cost of extraction, refining and transportation rises, companies could face shrinking profit margins, making fossil fuel investments less appealing. This, and shifting focus to clean energy, might push investors toward renewables, which are increasingly seen as more stable and future-proof.

    There’s a catch: These benefits depend on how other countries respond. If the U.S. tariffs cause economic slowdowns, some nations might double down on fossil fuels to stabilize their economies. So while tariffs could have some green silver linings, they’re more of a chaotic wildcard than a deliberate climate strategy.

    While the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration present significant challenges to global climate efforts, they also create opportunities for positive change. The disruptions in the clean energy supply chain, economic instability and rollbacks of environmental protections are certainly concerning. However, the unintended side effects of these actions might just catalyze a shift in global energy dynamics.

    In the long run, this “chaotic wildcard” could make fossil fuel investments riskier and accelerate the global pivot toward renewables. Countries and industries could be forced to innovate and adapt faster than expected. 

    While the path ahead may seem uncertain, there’s a silver lining: resilience, innovation and adaptability are key to overcoming these challenges. As the world adjusts to these new realities, the opportunity to cultivate a cleaner, more sustainable future is within reach — if leaders recognize this moment and take bold action to seize it. 

    So, while the road ahead may be bumpy, there is still reason to hope and act. 

     

    Questions to consider:

    1. How can governments turn the economic disruptions caused by tariffs into opportunities for advancing clean energy and climate goals?

    2. How can a decentralization of green energy technology be a good thing? 

    3. How can government intervention combined with market forces, like the rising cost of fossil fuels, accelerate the transition to renewable energy?

     

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  • 3 takeaways on higher education innovation from the ASU+GSV Summit

    3 takeaways on higher education innovation from the ASU+GSV Summit

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     SAN DIEGO — The higher education sector is facing an onslaught of challenges, including attacks from the Trump administration, fading public confidence and the demographic cliff. But higher education leaders didn’t shy away from these issues at the annual ASU+GSV Summit, an education and technology conference held this week in San Diego. 

    “The moment is actually a productive moment for us, because we can and should and will use some of the chaos in order to build new kinds of institutions, new infrastructures, new ways of thinking,” said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, during a discussion Wednesday. 

    Below, we’re rounding up three key takeaways from higher education leaders on where the sector needs to go and how it can be more innovative. 

    Higher ed needs to refocus on student success

    Mitchell pointed to multiple threats converging in the higher education sector, including eroding public confidence in colleges and universities. That forces the sector to grapple with important questions. 

    “What are we delivering? Is it the right thing? Is it being delivered to the right people? And is it being delivered to the right people in the right way?” Mitchell said. “I think that the answer to all of those is, ‘Not quite,’ and so that’s the existential threat.”

    He pointed to the national college completion rate, which measures the share of first-time students at degree-granting institutions who complete their credentials within six years. That rate has risen slightly above 60% in recent years. 

    “One hundred percent of the people who come to our doors want a degree,” Mitchell said. “But we disappoint 40% of them. And over time, that has accreted into a group of people in America — Americans who are our community — who say it didn’t work.”

    But centering student success can reverse that trend, Mitchell suggested. Carnegie Classifications, a popular system for categorizing colleges and universities that’s housed at ACE, is using that focus to bring changes to its framework. 

    For example, the system plans to release new classifications in the coming weeks based on student access and earnings, with an emphasis on measuring whether colleges have student bodies representative of their regions. 

    “We’re going to look at institution by institution — are you serving the students in the communities that you serve?” said Timothy Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. 

    A crisis can spur innovation

    Fear can be a motivator to embrace innovation, said Kathleen deLaski, founder of the nonprofit Education Design Lab. 

    “Let’s not waste a good crisis,” deLaski said during a panel Tuesday. 

    She pointed to enrollment challenges at community colleges. In 2023, The Hechinger Report found that they had shed just over one-third of their students since 2010. However, after years of declines, fall enrollment has been ticking up at public two-year colleges since 2022, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. 

    Community college leaders began looking for new educational models amid the enrollment crunch, deLaski said. And recently, interest in short-term credentials have been fueling some of the sector’s enrollment gains. 

    “It’s in the new kinds of short-term pathways, certificates, even dual enrollment in high school,” deLaski said. 

    That’s also been a focus at Education Design Lab. Since 2021, the nonprofit has worked with over 100 community colleges to create “micro-pathways” —  two or more stackable credentials that can be completed in under a year. The pathways are intended to result in jobs at or above the local region’s median wage and put students on track to earn an associate degree. 

    Innovation could come from unexpected places

    Disruption to higher education is more likely to come from certain areas of the sector than others, Paul LeBlanc said Tuesday. LeBlanc is the co-founder of Matter and Space, an artificial intelligence and education company, and he previously led Southern New Hampshire for two decades.

    “Where it is hardest are institutions that are first with sterling reputations and big endowments,” he said. “That’s a huge impediment to innovation.” 

    Public systems with strong unions may also struggle to be disruptive, LeBlanc said, though he added he was not anti-union. 

    On the other hand, colleges often seen as innovative don’t typically fall into those buckets. 

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  • Innovation, Collaboration During Challenging Times

    Innovation, Collaboration During Challenging Times

    I just returned from the UPCEA annual conference held in Denver. A record attendance of some 1,300 administrators, faculty and staff from member institutions gathered to share policies, practices, innovations and knowledge in advancing the mission of higher education in 2025. It was a thriving and exciting environment of energy and enthusiasm in seeking solutions to challenges that confront us today and into the future.

    Recent policy shifts regarding the federal funding of grants provided by the institutes and foundations that support university research were on the minds of most who attended. These topics provided the undercurrent of discussions in many of the sessions. The spirit was one of supporting each other in advancing their initiatives despite the prospect of cuts in federal support. The confluence of the demographic enrollment cliff of college-bound students due to the drop in births during the previous recession of 2007–09 and additional promised cuts in funding from federal and many state sources created an environment for collaboration on solving shared challenges rivaled only by that of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    A number of the sessions addressed innovations with cost savings, efficiencies and effectiveness gains that can be realized by thoughtfully introducing artificial intelligence into supporting many aspects of the higher education mission. The potential savings are significant if AI can take over duties of positions that become vacant or instances where staff are better utilized by shifting their efforts elsewhere.

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    By fall 2025, readily available AI tools will be able to serve in course development, delivery and assessment:

    • Conceive, design, create online (even self-paced) courses
    • Adapt and update class materials with emerging concepts, societal situations and news context
    • Lead and assess class discussions—stimulate deeper thought and engagement
    • Assess course assignments with personalized recommendations to fill in the gaps in knowledge
    • Provide one-on-one counseling on academic matters and referrals for personal challenges
    • Create a summative assessment of course outcomes and initiate revisions for improvement
    • Generate a deep-thinking report for administrators and committees to consider

    By this fall, readily available AI tools will be able to serve in curriculum development, marketing and student onboarding:

    • Survey specified fields for addition or expansion of degree and certificate programs
    • Recommend detailed curriculum for new programs and suggest tuition/fees
    • Create marketing plans after developing a report on demand and competitors in the program area
    • Develop, track, implement and adapt marketing budget
    • Prepare and support student advising to optimize retention and completion
    • Prepare updated and revised plans for spring 2026

    By fall 2025, develop optimal staff allocation and review process:

    • Assess performance evaluations, recommend additional interviews as appropriate
    • Develop, refine and utilize departmental/college priority list to respond to revenue and enrollment trends for the year
    • Match staff skills with desired outcomes
    • Monitor productivity and accomplishments for each employee
    • Make recommendations for further efficiencies, having AI perform some tasks such as accounting and data analysis previously done by humans
    • Be responsive to employee aspirations and areas of greatest interest
    • Review and prepare updated and revised plans for spring 2026

    These tasks and many more can be accomplished by AI tools that can be acquired at modest costs. Of course, they must be carefully reviewed by human administrators to ensure fairness and accuracy are maintained.

    I learned from a number of those attending the UPCEA conference that, in these relatively early stages of AI implementation, many employees harbor fears of AI. Concerns center around human job security. While there are many tasks that AI can more efficiently and effectively perform than humans, most current jobs include aspects that are best performed by humans. So, in most cases, the use of AI will be in a role of augmentation of human work to make it more expedient and save time for other new tasks the human employees can best perform.

    This presents the need for upskilling to enable human staff to make the efficiencies possible by learning to work best with AI. Interestingly, in most cases experts say this will not require computer coding or other such skills. Rather, this will require personnel to understand the capabilities of AI in order to tap these skills to advance the goals of the unit and university. Positions in which humans and AI are coworkers will require excellent communication skills, organizational skills, critical thinking and creative thinking. AI performs well at analytical, synthetical, predictive and creative tasks, among others. It is adept at taking on leadership and managerial roles that recognize the unit and institutional priorities as well as employee preferences and abilities.

    How then can we best prepare our staff for optimizing their working relations with the new AI coworkers? I believe this begins with personal experience with AI tools. We all should become comfortable with conducting basic searches using a variety of chat bots. Learning to compose a proper prompt is the cornerstone of communicating with AI.

    The next step is to use a handful of the readily available deep-research tools to generate a report on a topic that is relevant to the staff member’s work. Compare and contrast those reports for quality, accuracy and the substance of cited material. Perform the research iteratively to improve or refine results. This Medium post offers a good summary of leading deep-research engines and best applications, although it was released in February and may be dated due to the Gemini version 2.5 Pro released on March 26. This new version by Google is topping many of the current ratings charts.

    In sum, we are facing changes of an unprecedented scale with the disruption of long-standing policies, funding sources and a shrinking incoming student pool. Fortunately, these changes are coming at the same time as AI is maturing into a dependable tool that can take on some of the slack that will come from not filling vacancies. However, to meet that need we must begin to provide training to our current and incoming employees to ensure that they can make the most of AI tools we will provide.

    Together, through the collaborative support of UPCEA and other associations, we in higher education will endure these challenges as we did those posed by the COVID pandemic.

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  • Building a Foundation for Innovation and Empathy Through Arts Education

    Building a Foundation for Innovation and Empathy Through Arts Education

    From fostering creativity and critical thinking to enhancing emotional intelligence and cultural awareness, arts education plays a crucial role in shaping future leaders.

    Martine Kei Green-Rogers, Ph.D.

    Dean, The Theatre School at DePaul University

    Artists want to be in conversation with other artists, artforms, and disciplines of study. An arts education is valuable because we need people who are interested in exploring, highlighting, and sharing our collective humanity. We need people to tell the history of our global societies and help us recognize how to make what may seem foreign to us more familiar.  

    A conservatory model encourages other artforms and disciplines to play together by establishing a place where artists can fail miserably, pick back up, and start again. Students not only learn the technical skills of their craft, but they also learn creative problem-solving, collaboration and communication, and discipline and adaptability. These are the skills needed for a person to be successful, no matter what they decide to do later in life.  

    100 years of arts education

    At The Theatre School at DePaul University, modeling new paths for what one can do with conservatory training is our future. We are an amazing school with a rich heritage. This year, we celebrate 100 years of training theatre professionals, and this milestone has given us an opportunity to reflect on how our students have taken their training and gone on to do so many phenomenal things both inside and out of the theatre world. Our graduates use their arts training to make the world a better place and to provide opportunities for the next generation of artists.  

    At the heart of who we are as an educational institution, and as a value based collective of artists, we embody in our spaces everyday why the arts are necessary.

    Rebecca Ryan, the director of admissions for The Theatre School, summarizes who we are succinctly: ”Nestled in the heart of Chicago, a city renowned for its vibrant and diverse theatre scene, The Theatre School at DePaul University offers a cutting-edge education with 15 highly specialized Bachelor of Fine Arts programs ranging from Acting and Comedy Arts to Projection Design and Theatre Management, a Master of Fine Arts program in Acting, and a new Certification for Intimacy Professionals in Theatre & Cinema.

    “With over 30 productions each year, students engage in immersive, hands-on experiences. Faculty — all professional theatre artists active in the industry — bring their real-world expertise to the classroom, along with their professional network and connections. Students develop skills that prepare them to innovate and excel in the dynamic entertainment landscape.”

    More than art for art’s sake

    We help students find their path by providing numerous opportunities to delve into the real-world applications for their art that goes beyond “art for art’s sake” (not that this is a bad thing). For example, we devised a theatrical piece in May 2024 as a response to an exhibition by Selva Aparicio at the DePaul Art Museum to bring awareness to domestic violence, we are currently partnering with the College of Science and Health at our university to train emerging healthcare professionals, and provoking conversations about our contemporary society through the lens of historical events via our partnership with the american vicarious and TimeLine Theatre.   

    These kinds of collaborative projects expand the world of possibilities for our students and the ability to experiment allows for someone to have the fortitude to carve their own paths and create their own opportunities. 

    While resilience, emotional intelligence, and critical-thinking skills might not be in the course catalog per se, these transferable skills not only prepare students for a wide range of careers, but an education in the arts also deeply connects students to our shared humanity. The world needs more innovators who lead with empathy.

    Click here to learn more about The Theatre School at DePaul University

    Author bio

    Martine Kei Green-Rogers is the dean at The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago. She earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Theatre and Drama at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She received her bachelor’s in theatre from Virginia Wesleyan College and her master’s in theatre history and criticism from The Catholic University of America. A director and writer, Martine has a long history in the theatre. She has held several positions in dramaturgy, literary management, writing, directing and creative storytelling in the professional theatre and entertainment industries. Her portfolio includes positions at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Court Theatre in Chicago. Martine previously served as interim dean of the Division of Liberal Arts at the University of North Carolina School for the Arts. She also is the immediate past president of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas and the current President-Elect of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE).

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  • Promoting Student Engagement, Health Innovation With Grants

    Promoting Student Engagement, Health Innovation With Grants

    This past fall, Elon University in North Carolina offered students an opportunity to positively impact the campus community’s well-being through grant-funded projects.

    The Andrew G. Bennett ’08 Student Wellness Innovation Grants recognized four student-led projects this winter, which will be implemented over the next year and beyond. The initiative supports student leadership in well-being work and also helps university leadership glean insight into what could impact student health and wellness.

    How it works: Funds for the grant were previously endowed to support a safe ride program at the university, but the rise of ride-hailing apps has reduced the need for funding in that area, explains Anu Räisänen, director of HealthEU initiatives. University leaders worked with the donor to realign funds to spur innovation among students.

    To be considered, the project had to align with HealthEU goals and address at least one of six dimensions of wellness—community, emotional, financial, physical, purpose and social.

    The grant committee—chaired by Räisänen and supported by two graduate apprentices, a counselor and a professor of education—reviewed seven proposals this cycle. Each proposal was submitted by a student as an individual or as part of a group. Students were encouraged to find a department or student organization to co-sign the proposal to promote sustainability and continuation of efforts beyond the individual’s time at the university, Räisänen says.

    Prior to submitting an application, students could opt to meet with Räisänen for a consultation to flesh out their idea, including brainstorming campus partners to support the effort after the individual graduates.

    Applicants also provided a summary of how funding will be used and the intended impact on the community’s well-being.

    The committee accepted and reviewed applications within Qualtrics, grading each proposal with a rubric that weighed feasibility, innovation and impact.

    What’s next: Four proposals received $500 each in funding, the maximum amount available, including a puppy yoga event, an arts and crafts service initiative, a peer support program for nursing students, and renovation of the philosophy suite in the Spence Pavilion, an academic building on campus.

    There was no one ideal project, and each grantee differed in terms of length of project and target population, Räisänen says.

    This spring, students will submit an impact report describing the project status and the effects so far. Grant recipients will also present at HealthEU Day, which celebrates ongoing efforts to promote integrated wellness through fun events and education.

    Students still enrolled will be asked to attend, and those who have graduated may provide a video discussing their project and the innovation fund.

    “The goal is that students come and share their experience, like they would do with undergraduate research as well, and then we build that momentum” for student interest and engagement, Räisänen says. “The best way to get a message to students is word of mouth; you just need to find the right students to spread the word.”

    In the future, Räisänen and her team are considering ways to provide larger grant awards to encourage students to think bigger about ways they could impact well-being on campus.

    Seeking stories from campus leaders, faculty members and staff for our Student Success focus. Share here.

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  • 25 (Mostly AI) Sessions to Enjoy in 2025 – The 74

    25 (Mostly AI) Sessions to Enjoy in 2025 – The 74


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    South by Southwest Edu returns to Austin, Texas, running March 3-6. As always, it’ll offer a huge number of panels, discussions, film screenings, musical performances and workshops exploring education, innovation and the future of schooling.

    Keynote speakers this year include neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff, founder of Ness Labs, an online educational platform for knowledge workers; astronaut, author and TV host Emily Calandrelli, and Shamil Idriss, CEO of Search for Common Ground, an international non-profit. Idriss will speak about what it means to be strong in the face of opposition — and how to turn conflict into cooperation. Also featured: indy musical artist Jill Sobule, singing selections from her musical F*ck 7th Grade.

    As in 2024, artificial intelligence remains a major focus, with dozens of sessions exploring AI’s potential and pitfalls. But other topics are on tap as well, including sessions on playful learning, book bans and the benefits of prison journalism. 

    To help guide the way, we’ve scoured the schedule to highlight 25 of the most significant presenters, topics and panels: 

    Monday, March 3:

    11 a.m. — Ultimate Citizens Film Screening: A new independent film features a Seattle school counselor who builds a world-class Ultimate Frisbee team with a group of immigrant children at Hazel Wolf K-8 School. 

    11:30 a.m. — AI & the Skills-First Economy: Navigating Hype & Reality: Generative AI is accelerating the adoption of a skills-based economy, but many are skeptical about its value, impact and the pace of growth. Will AI spark meaningful change and a new economic order, or is it just another overhyped trend? Meena Naik of Jobs for the Future leads a discussion with Colorado Community College System Associate Vice Chancellor Michael Macklin, Nick Moore, an education advisor to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, and Best Buy’s Ryan Hanson.

    11:30 a.m. — Navigation & Guidance in the Age of AI: The Clayton Christensen Institute’s Julia Freeland Fisher headlines a panel that looks at how generative AI can help students access 24/7 help in navigating pathways to college. As new models take root, the panel will explore what entrepreneurs are learning about what students want from these systems. Will AI level the playing field or perpetuate inequality? 

    12:30 p.m. — Boosting Student Engagement Means Getting Serious About Play: New research shows students who are engaged in schoolwork not only do better in school but are happier and more confident in life. And educators say they’d be happier at work and less likely to leave the profession if students engaged more deeply. In this session, LEGO Education’s Bo Stjerne Thomsen will explore the science behind playful learning and how it can get students and teachers excited again.

    1:30 p.m. — The AI Sandbox: Building Your Own Future of Learning: Mike Yates of The Reinvention Lab at Teach for America leads an interactive session offering participants the chance to build their own AI tools to solve real problems they face at work, school or home. The session is for AI novices as well as those simply curious about how the technology works. Participants will get free access to Playlab.AI.

    2:30 p.m. — Journalism Training in Prison Teaches More Than Headlines: Join Charlotte West of Open Campus, Lawrence Bartley of The Marshall Project and Yukari Kane of the Prison Journalism Project to explore real-life stories from behind bars. Journalism training is transforming the lives of a few of the more than 1.9 million people incarcerated in the U.S., teaching skills from time management to communication and allowing inmates to feel connected to society while building job skills. 

    Tuesday, March 4:

    11:30 a.m. — Enough Talk! Let’s Play with AI: Amid the hand-wringing about what AI means for the future of education, there’s been little conversation about how a few smart educators are already employing it to shift possibilities for student engagement and classroom instruction. In this workshop, attendees will learn how to leverage promising practices emerging from research with real educators using AI in writing, creating their own chatbots and differentiating support plans. 

    12:30 p.m. — How Much is Too Much? Navigating AI Usage in the Classroom: AI-enabled tools can be helpful for students conducting research, outlining written work, or proofing and editing submissions. But there’s a fine line between using AI appropriately and taking advantage of it, leaving many students wondering, “How much AI is too much?” This session, led by Turnitin’s Annie Chechitelli, will discuss the rise of GenAI, its intersection with academia and academic integrity, and how to determine appropriate usage.  

    1 p.m. — AI & Edu: Sharing Real Classroom Successes & Challenges: Explore the real-world impact of AI in education during this interactive session hosted by Zhuo Chen, a text analysis instructor at the nonprofit education startup Constellate, and Dylan Ruediger of the research and consulting group Ithaka S+R. Chen and Ruediger will share successes and challenges in using AI to advance student learning, engagement and skills. 

    1 p.m. — Defending the Right to Read: Working Together: In 2025, authors face unprecedented challenges. This session, which features Scholastic editor and young adult novelist David Levithan, as well as Emily Kirkpatrick, executive director of the National Council of Teachers of English, will explore the battle for freedom of expression and the importance of defending reading in the face of censorship attempts and book bans.

    1 p.m. — Million Dollar Advice: Navigating the Workplace with Amy Poehler’s Top Execs: Kate Arend and Kim Lessing, the co-presidents of Amy Poehler’s production company Paper Kite Productions, will be live to record their workplace and career advice podcast “Million Dollar Advice.” The pair will tackle topics such as setting and maintaining boundaries, learning from Gen Z, dealing with complicated work dynamics, and more. They will also take live audience questions.

    4 p.m. — Community-Driven Approaches to Inclusive AI Education: With rising recognition of neurodivergent students, advocates say AI can revolutionize how schools support them by streamlining tasks, optimizing resources and enhancing personalized learning. In the process, schools can overcome challenges in mainstreaming students with learning differences. This panel features educators and advocates as well as Alex Kotran, co-founder and CEO of The AI Education Project.

    4 p.m. — How AI Makes Assessment More Actionable in Instruction: Assessments are often disruptive, cumbersome or disconnected from classroom learning. But a few advocates and developers say AI-powered assessment tools offer an easier, more streamlined way for students to demonstrate learning — and for educators to adapt instruction to meet their needs. This session, moderated by The 74’s Greg Toppo, features Khan Academy’s Kristen DiCerbo, Curriculum Associates’ Kristen Huff and Akisha Osei Sarfo, director of research at the Council of the Great City Schools.

    Wednesday, March 5:

    11 a.m. — Run, Hide, Fight: Growing Up Under the Gun Screening & Q&A: Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for American children and teens, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, yet coverage of gun violence’s impact on youth is usually reported by adults. Run, Hide, Fight: Growing Up Under the Gun is a 30-minute documentary by student journalists about how gun violence affects young Americans. Produced by PBS News Student Reporting Labs in collaboration with 14 student journalists in five cities, it centers the perspectives of young people who live their lives in the shadow of this threat. 

    11:30 a.m. — AI, Education & Real Classrooms: Educators are at the forefront of testing, using artificial intelligence and teaching their communities about it. In this interactive session, participants will hear from educators and ed tech specialists on the ground working to support the use of AI to improve learning. The session includes Stacie Johnson, director of professional learning at Khan Academy, and Dina Neyman, Khan Academy’s director of district success. 

    11:30 a.m. — The Future of Teaching in an Age of AI: As AI becomes increasingly present in the classroom, educators are understandably concerned about how it might disrupt their teaching. An expert panel featuring Jake Baskin, executive director of the Computer Science Teachers Association andKarim Meghji of Code.org, will look at how teaching will change in an age of AI, exploring frameworks for teaching AI skills and sharing best practices for integrating AI literacy across disciplines.

    2:30 p.m. — AI in Education: Preparing Gen A as the Creators of Tomorrow: Generation Alpha is the first to experience generative artificial intelligence from the start of their educational journeys. To thrive in a world featuring AI requires educators helping them tap into their natural creativity, navigating unique opportunities and challenges. In this session, a cross-industry panel of experts discuss strategies to integrate AI into learning, allowing critical thinking and curiosity to flourish while enabling early learners to become architects of AI, not just users.

    2:30 p.m. — The Ethical Use of AI in the Education of Black Children: Join a panel of educators, tech leaders and nonprofit officials as they discuss AI’s ethical complexities and its impact on the education of Black children. This panel will address historical disparities, biases in technology, and the critical need for ethical AI in education. It will also offer unique perspectives into the benefits and challenges of AI in Black children’s education, sharing best practices to promote the safe, ethical and legal use of AI in classrooms.

    2:30 p.m. — Exploring Teacher Morale State by State: Is teacher morale shaped by where teachers work? Find out as Education Week releases its annual State of Teaching survey. States and school districts drive how teachers are prepared, paid and promoted, and the findings will raise new questions about what leaders and policymakers should consider as they work to support an essential profession. The session features Holly Kurtz, director of EdWeek Research Center, Stephen Sawchuk, EdWeek assistant managing editor, and assistant editor Sarah D. Sparks.

    2:30 p.m. — From White Folks Who Teach in the Hood: Is This Conversation Against the Law Now? While most students in U.S. public schools are now young people of color, more than 80% of their teachers are white. How do white educators understand and address these dynamics? Join a live recording of a podcast that brings together white educators with Christopher Emdin and sam seidel, co-editors of From White Folks Who Teach in the Hood: Reflections on Race, Culture, and Identity (Beacon, 2024).

    3:30 p.m. — How Youth Use GenAI: Time to Rethink Plagiarism: Schools are locked in a battle with students over fears they’re using generative artificial intelligence to plagiarize existing work. In this session, join Elliott Hedman, a “customer obsession engineer” with mPath, who with colleagues and students co-designed a GenAI writing tool to reframe AI use. Hedman will share three strategies that not only prevent plagiarism but also teach students how to use GenAI more productively.  

    Thursday, March 6:

    10 a.m. — AI & the Future of Education: Join futurists Sinead Bovell and Natalie Monbiot for a fireside discussion about how we prepare kids for a future we cannot yet see but know will be radically transformed by technology. Bovell and Monbiot will discuss the impact of artificial intelligence on our world and the workforce, as well as its implications for education. 

    10 a.m. — Reimagining Everyday Places as Early Learning Hubs: Young children spend 80% of their time outside of school, but too many lack access to experiences that encourage learning through hands-on activities and play. While these opportunities exist in middle-class and upper-income neighborhoods, they’re often inaccessible to families in low-income communities. In this session, a panel of designers and educators featuring Sarah Lytle, who leads the Playful Learning Landscapes Action Network, will look at how communities are transforming overlooked spaces such as sidewalks, shelters and even jails into nurturing learning environments accessible to all kids.

    11 a.m. — Build-a-Bot Workshop: Make Your Own AI to Make Sense of AI: In this session, participants will build an AI chatbot alongside designers and engineers from Stanford University and Stanford’s d.school, getting to the core of how AI works. Participants will conceptualize, outline and create conversation flows for their own AI assistant and explore methods that technical teams use to infuse warmth and adaptability into interactions and develop reliable chatbots.  

    11:30 a.m. — Responsible AI: Balancing Innovation, Impact, & Ethics: In this session, participants will learn how educators, technologists and policymakers work to develop AI responsibly. Panelists include Isabelle Hau of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, Amelia Kelly, chief technology officer of the Irish AI startup SoapBox Labs, and Latha Ramanan of the AI developer Merlyn Mind. They’ll talk about how policymakers and educators can work with developers to ensure transparency and accuracy of AI tools. 


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  • Supporting the careers of researchers means innovation, not isolation

    Supporting the careers of researchers means innovation, not isolation

    The phrase attributed to Sir Isaac Newton, “if I have seen further, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants,” is often used as a metaphor for research and innovation: how each great thinker builds on the thoughts and research of others, the unending column of prize winners and esteemed fellows pursuing academic endeavour.

    However, the environment I sought as a researcher and aim to enable as a university leader is more of a supportive collective, certainly one with a much less precarious base.

    Perhaps the most important lessons learnt during my own research career was that the giants of research, innovation and knowledge exchange whose shoulders we are more often standing on are not the senior staff but rather the PhD students, early career researchers, postdoctoral fellows and technicians, who turn challenging questions posed into the most exciting innovative answers. And often without the bias of doing things the way we have in the past.

    Untangling

    Achieving the UK’s priority of innovation and the growth it drives requires a long-range vision to set direction matched with agility to rapidly pivot as new opportunities arise. This agility needs a skilled research workforce and the attraction of the brightest minds into roles at all stages of a research and innovation career.

    However, these giants, whose shoulders we balance UK innovation on, need long-term confidence to initiate a career which currently has precarity baked in. Growing investment to support research and innovation is needed, but investment in equipment, facilities and consumables will not succeed without engaged and enabling expertise.

    Alongside this, regional disparity of funding, low research cost recovery, and increasing regulatory demands are posing the question of how much research can any university afford to undertake. The simple answer may appear to be to do less, or divert funding to specialist institutes without dual responsibility for teaching – however, this would undermine the agility that is underpinned by broad expertise, civic and industrial partnerships and infrastructure which resides across our higher education institutions.

    Fixing this knotty problem needs a systematic approach, balancing external and internal funding alongside improved recovery of the true cost of research. With restrictions in the sector and reduced internal funding impacting decisions, it is imperative to not forget the essential role of the precarious base on which our research activity in the UK is built – and to support it accordingly.

    Concordat priorities

    My commitment to career development and recognition of researchers is why I am excited to be continuing the great work led by Julia Buckingham as the incoming chair of the Researcher Development Concordat Strategy Group, which oversees the Researcher Development Concordat.

    The concordat was first published in 2019, building on agreements of funding bodies and universities over a decade earlier. The current signatories are over 100 higher education and research institutes, who commit to the principles of environment and culture, employment, and career development for researchers in our institutions and 17 funding agencies who set grant holder requirements relating to the concordat commitments.

    The concordat has recently undergone a review which identified future areas of focus to achieve continued effectiveness. Three priorities were identified:

    First, agreeing a set of shared principles to define the characteristics of a positive environment for research culture, and second, working to a shared set of research culture values with measurable indicators of progress. We seek to align a set of shared broad principles to define the characteristics of a positive environment for research culture. While these must link to the REF people, culture and environment measures, they need to be high-level shared principles and ensure that they define measurable indicators of progress to avoid confusion across multiple agendas. These also need to be high enough level to ensure a collective agreement to deliver whilst also accommodating the diversity and breadth of higher education institutions and research organisations.

    The third priority is simplifying the bureaucracy. This is essential in a sector with ever-growing demands of attention and associated costs to deliver. While we must maintain accountability, we need to simplify the bureaucracy to work in service of our principles and values, not dictate them. In short, we must simplify for our communities how the different national concordats can complement rather than compete for attention. To achieve this, we are reviewing and reforming reporting requirements to achieve better alignment and to incorporate them into existing reporting where possible. We are working with other bodies to align data and reporting requirements.

    I am also keen to work with industry body representatives to understand and reduce barriers to the movement of careers from academia to industry and vice versa. This porosity of career is needed for both innovation and rapid business adoption of innovative ideas. For this porosity to support innovation and growth we also need to enhance engagement from the industry to support researchers throughout a changing career.

    While this work is delivered by the concordat strategy group, the concordat is collectively owned by the sector and continued engagement is needed to ensure the concordat is fit for purpose. Given this, we are looking for engagement in future work, more details about which can be found on the concordat webpage. I look forward to working with higher education institutions, industry, funders, the Researcher Development Concordat Strategy Group, and individuals to deliver our collective commitments.

    The Researcher Development Concordat Strategy Group secretariat is jointly funded through funding bodies from the four nations: Research England, the Scottish Funding Council, Medr (previously HEFCW), and the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland. I thank them for their continued support.

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  • Perspectives on pedagogical innovation | SRHE Blog

    Perspectives on pedagogical innovation | SRHE Blog

    by Kamilya Suleymenova and Emma Thirkell

    The landscape of higher education (HE) in the UK (but also more widely, in Western countries and across the globe) has significantly changed, driven by the massification and the following marketisation of HE studies (Alves & Tomlinson, 2021; Molesworth et al, 2009). The predominance of particular governance structures and schools of thought shape the narrative further (as discussed by Marcia Devlin (2021) in her SRHE blog) and create a deceptively heterogeneous environment, where each prospective student can find their “place”, but all are conditioned to follow a similar narrative.

    New disruptions

    On this backdrop new disruptions appear, of which we want to focus on two specifically for the UK HE. First, the legacy of lockdowns, bringing more flexible working environment and an astonishing pervasiveness of digital tools together with disrupted earlier education and legacy of health, including mental health, concerns, unsettles further already brittle UK HE sector (as illustrated by SRHE blog by Steven Jones (2022). Second, the advent of Generative AI and its implications for teaching, learning, and assessment. Much has been said about these (Lee et al, 2024; O’Dea, 2024) – our learning points from this rapidly growing literature are that i) significant disruption has occurred and ii) something needs to be done to react to this change in context. In other words, while there are many tried and tested theories and methods in teaching and assessment, they need to be reviewed and very likely adapted to keep up with the changing context.

    The change did not occur only in the tools: we argue here that it is not merely a quantitative technical change (eg speed of communication), but a qualitative change, which affected or at least has the potential to affect, the mindset and the behaviour of students (and staff). Together, these factors produce more stressed, more demanding, potentially differently engaged students (sometimes perceived as less engaged), focused on the “added value” of their degrees and their “university experience”, anxious to acquire competences and skills through experiential learning to be in the best position for securing the employment of their choice.

    In this rapidly changing context, the need for pedagogical innovations (PI), or at least the desire and the ability to engage with disruptions in the education process, seems almost inevitable. But how do the staff working in the UK HE, respond to this demand? Are the challenges viewed as opportunities or rather as additional pressures, adding to an evolving workload and requirements to navigate a complex bureaucracy?

    Research focus: understanding the lived experiences of educators

    Our research explores the lived experiences of educators across 13 UK universities, investigating their engagement with PI in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. By examining how institutional dynamics, personal motivations, and perceived barriers shape decisions surrounding PI, we have developed the initial stages of a conceptual framework, presented at the SRHE International Conference, to guide policies that better support educators and foster sustained PI in teaching. Through 30 interviews with educators, senior staff, and technology-enabled learning (TEL) specialists, we reveal the complex decision-making processes that influence whether and how educators embrace or resist innovation in their teaching practices.

    What drives educators to innovate?

    Our research highlights a multifaceted landscape where educators’ motivations for engaging with PI are shaped by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. For many, intrinsic motivations, such as a deep-rooted desire to enhance student learning and a personal commitment to pedagogical excellence, act as powerful drivers for innovation. As one educator noted, “I’m always looking for new ideas. Innovation gives me a sense of purpose and connection with my students, making teaching more fulfilling.” This indicates that where academics feel a strong personal commitment to education, and it is rewarded, they are more likely to embrace innovative practices.

    The tension between rhetoric and reality

    However, these motivations are often counterbalanced by extrinsic pressures from the institutional environment, whether perceived or real. Many educators reported feeling that institutional strategies, while rhetorically supportive of PI, were undercut by bureaucratic barriers, a lack of adequate resources, and managerial cultures focused on short-term, measurable outcomes. One academic explained, “Innovation is a buzzword here, but when it comes to implementing anything new, we’re stuck in a system that values research output over teaching innovation. There’s little incentive to invest time in something that doesn’t directly contribute to my publication record.” This highlights the tension between institutional narrative and individual motivations, with many educators perceiving a disconnect between institutional rhetoric purporting to encourage PI and the reality of its implementation.

    Autonomy and trust

    Another key finding concerns the role of autonomy and trust in fostering a culture of innovation. Educators who felt empowered within their departments – where trust was placed in their judgment – were more likely to experiment with new teaching methods. As one TEL specialist remarked, “When leadership trusts us, we feel freer to try new approaches. But when we are micromanaged, the innovation just stops. You’re constantly battling to prove that your idea is worth the time it takes.” This sense of autonomy, closely linked to professional identity, is crucial in determining whether educators feel motivated to innovate or revert to traditional methods.

    The cost of innovation

    However, these ‘empowering’ environments were not universally experienced. Many educators, particularly those in large departments or with heavy teaching loads, reported feeling that the cost of innovation – both in terms of time and energy – was too high. “It’s hard to innovate when you’re overwhelmed with marking, preparation, and administration. It feels like there’s no room to breathe, let alone experiment,” shared an academic. This sense of burnout, compounded by a perception of growing academic bureaucracy, led some to feel that the costs of engaging in PI outweighed the benefits, making it more difficult to justify the time and effort required for innovation.

    A balancing act

    Perhaps not surprisingly, some educators justified their lack of engagement with PI by citing these perceived institutional constraints. As one educator put it, “We’re told to innovate, but the structure just isn’t there to support it. It’s easier to stick with what we know works than to risk failure with something new.” This reflects the cognitive flexibility educators employ when balancing personal motivations with institutional limitations. As per Goffman’s (1959) ‘front’ and ‘back’ stage theory, educators sometimes present a compliant, innovative persona on the ‘front’ stage in order to ‘fit in’ (Nästesjö, 2023), while in the ‘back’ stage, they rationalize their lack of engagement by attributing it to costs and benefits, reconciling their professional image with their lived experiences.

    Reflections

    We are certain that some, if not all, of these quotes will resonate with many of the readers: these trends have been discussed in, for example, Lašáková et al (2017) and Findlow (2008). Our aim is not only to systematise and categorise the individual aspects shared with us by both frustrated and aspiring colleagues, but to focus on an in-depth analysis of their motivations. Based on previous literature and our data, we aim to generalise and develop a theoretical framework through the lens of an interdisciplinary management and economics analysis. The preliminary version of this theoretical framework, presented at the 2024 SRHE Conference, should provide a foundation for shaping institutional policies to develop a sustainable pipeline of innovations, in the full respect of both academic freedom and students’ interests. In other words, we hope that our work will facilitate structural changes to unlock the innovation potential and help institutions to help us to innovate.

    Kamilya Suleymenova is Associate Professor at the Department of Economics, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham with interests in assessment and feedback particularly for large cohorts, Generative AI in HE, as well as institutional and behavioural and experimental economics. Now twice a presenter at SRHE International Conference, Kamilya appreciates the constructive feedback of the community.

    Emma Thirkell is an Assistant Professor in Human Resource Management at Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University with interests in pedagogical innovation, experiential learning, and the integration of technology in education. A four-time teaching award winner, she is passionate about bridging academia and practice through innovative curriculum design and leadership in higher education.

    Author: SRHE News Blog

    An international learned society, concerned with supporting research and researchers into Higher Education

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