Caption for feature image (above) Idea Table Café participants and their specific ideas.
In October 2023, North Carolina State University’s College of Education faculty and administrators engaged in a series of Collaborating with Strangers (CoLAB) Workshops. Their goal was to increase familiarity of faculty research interests to inspire innovative partnerships resulting in new research projects.
The College of Education sought to increase familiarity of faculty research interests to inspire innovative partnerships resulting in new research projects. The CoLABs (speed-meetings and Idea Table Café’s) hosted interactions with interested faculty and administrators whose past research and partnership experiences were exposed through one-on-one profiles, conversations, and small group meetings.
Bess facilitated the CoLABs and provided each participant with materials produced during the workshop including participant profiles, and ideas for new funding proposals and partnerships. Collectively, these resources and conversations led to the creation of interdisciplinary project teams who produced grant proposals using guidelines emphasizing new partnerships and innovative approaches to producing new research projects, across College of Ed departments. Interdisciplinary Research Hubs project team members competed for $25,000 innovative partnership research funding provided by the Dean’s office.
Here are examples of the three Hubs that were awarded internal College of Education funding through the Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, ASK’s partner in designing the strategies for achieving the College’s new collaborative research-development goals.
Enjoy this video that shares the voices of project team members describing their three awarded Interdisciplinary Research Hub proposals in Education.
Many thanks to Associate Dean Karen Hollebrands, Office of Research Innovation at the College of Education, for making this innovative collaborative program available for staff and faculty.