SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology Grant (IITG)

 SUNY  is the country’s largest integrated system of public higher education with over 1.3 million students, 96,000 degrees awarded annually, and over 640,000 faculty across its 64 campuses. 

SUNY is committed to cultivating  Global Learning For All  and bringing local and world communities into the fabric of every SUNY experience, sparking and channeling innovation to increase magnitude and relevance.

 UB  is the largest and most comprehensive research university in the SUNY system and is a member of the  Association of American Universities (AAU) , currently ranked #38 among top research universities in the US. UB serves over 32,000 students through its 13 schools and colleges and 450+ degree programs.

The  UB Experiential Learning Network (ELN)  supports students in activating UB’s diverse expertise and relationships through mentored projects and digital badges, catalyzing individual, collective and global impact.

Through the ELN Project Portal students find projects and mentors and earn digital badges, showcasing their achievement to key audiences. 

Since its launch in 2019 the Project Portal has supported more than 3,000 students and awarded over 1,500 digital badges. 

The Project Portal can accommodate any type of project but has won awards for its SDG Project Challenges, which connect students with partners doing the work of development and sustainability around the world.

Through this competitive award, the ELN is scaling its SDG Project Challenges and digital badges across SUNY (64 campuses).

Activating relationships with faculty and partners doing the work of sustainability and development within communities and ecosystems around the world.

We will use the ELN Project Portal as the platform to invite SUNY students to engage in SDG Project Challenges. To learn more about the Project Portal model, please reference the following:

 Project Portal Book Chapter 

 Book Chapter 

• Mentored
• Collaborative
• Results in an tangible outcome meaningful to an identified audience

• Geo-spatially referenced (focused on a particular place)
• Connected with the SDGs (students will make the connections)
• Support direct engagement for students (via interview or conversation)

If Project Challenge requires specialized skills, knowledge, or technology, it must be associated with a faculty mentor/content expect/credit-based offering

• Creation of Project Challenges in collaboration with partners
• Curriculum development with a focus on PEARL and StoryMaps
• Faculty engagement and integration within courses and programs
• Data visualization and digital badges
• Student access and retention
• Workforce development, K-12 education, online learning and other potential applications
• SDG and multi-stakeholder partners with a focus on broader impacts and scalability

• Recruitment of students
• Integration with courses or programs (for faculty and staff)
• Development of project guides (curriculum designers)
• Mentoring
• Research, presentations, and publications

Contact Mara Huber at mbhuber@buffalo.edu with questions or ideas for collaboration or engagement