Today’s adventures took me to the lush green, cherry blossoms, and red buds-laden campus of the historic Virginia State University (VSU), an HBCU in Petersburg, VA for the GRANTED initiative funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
GRANTED aims to enhance research access and diversity by fostering collaboration among schools, community colleges, universities, industries, and community-based organizations in Central Virginia. The conference grant includes three all-day workshops in the winter and spring of 2024, focusing on building a collaborative regional research infrastructure.
Today’s session was on tech transfer, innovationaculty engagement with well over 35 people attending the half-day sessions including a panel discussion.
The conference’s goal is to generate a conceptual framework that hinges upon “The Collective Impact” model and plan initial action steps for collaborating partners and attendees to take in building this infrastructure.
It’s important to grow tech transfer at MSIs and HBCUs because these institutions play a crucial role in diversifying research and innovation. They often serve underrepresented communities and can bring unique perspectives and solutions to research challenges. By enhancing tech transfer capabilities, MSIs and HBCUs can increase their impact on research, innovation, and community development.
The workshops aim to open research opportunities to a wider range of stakeholders, explore new opportunities such as technology transfer, connect humanities and social sciences research to community needs, and nurture more diverse student research and leadership opportunities.
GRANTED is not just about receiving funding; it’s about being part of a movement to improve research support and service capacity for the benefit of all.
And the morning and afternoon commute? Let’s just say I had an impromptu shower courtesy of heavy rains and the highway trucks, complete with the sheer negligence of those drivers who don’t feel the need to have their lights on when their wipers are on. It’s not that hard 🤦🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️ But hey, nothing like a little adventure to start and end the day, right?!
