Building the National HBCU Innovation Ecosystem

Historically Black Colleges and Universities are among the nation's leaders of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics talent and are significant institutions of scientific creativity, discovery, and innovation. Yet disparate access to innovation infrastructure, specialized expertise, technology translation resources, and commercialization networks can limit opportunities for promising ideas and discoveries to achieve expanded reach, leading to unrealized nationwide talent. The HBCU Innovation Ecosystem Initiative is a five-year project led by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to strengthen undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and research through innovation-focused learning, faculty development, mentoring, and institutional capacity-building. The project will build upon the existing innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities by expanding opportunities for students and faculty to develop innovations, access expertise and mentoring, build cross-institutional and cross-sector networks, and connect education and research with emerging technologies and innovation careers. The project will focus on four domains with national relevance, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and Energy and infrastructure. Major national activities include an annual Making and Innovation Showcase for interdisciplinary undergraduate student teams; a Faculty Innovation Institute supporting innovation-focused teaching, research, and institutional capacity; a national Community of Practice; structured faculty, peer, and professional mentoring; and partnerships connecting participating institutions with expertise and opportunities across the research and innovation enterprise. The project has the potential to generate and share evidence about which approaches are most effective, so that lessons learned can benefit other institutions seeking to build innovation capacity. The HBCU Innovation Ecosystem Initiative has four goals: (1) expand student participation in innovation-driven education, research, and career pathways; (2) strengthen faculty capacity to lead innovation-focused undergraduate education and research; (3) strengthen a national innovation ecosystem connecting Historically Black Colleges and Universities through partnerships and networks; and (4) generate knowledge about effective approaches to institutional innovation capacity-building. Grounded in evidence on experiential learning, maker-centered pedagogy, entrepreneurship education, mentoring, and innovation ecosystems, the project will engage undergraduate student teams in applied innovation experiences addressing critical and emerging technology areas through the ecosystem domains. Faculty development will combine online learning, cohort-based engagement, applied institutional projects, mentoring, and an in-person Capstone experience. Community-building, alumni engagement, and cross-sector partnerships will provide sustained access to expertise, mentoring, and innovation opportunities while strengthening national networks among participating institutions. The project findings will contribute to a national, scalable model for strengthening undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and research, institutional innovation capacity, and pathways through which scientific talent and innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities can achieve comprehensive educational, scientific, workforce, and economic impact. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.