Workforce Development
Interface of Change incorporates workforce development efforts in three sets of activities: ideation events, connections and capacity building events, and early-career faculty and student development. These activities provide researchers and students opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship training, academic professional development, and mentorship.
Alaska Startup Weekend
Alaska Startup Weekend is an annual ideation event in which teams of community members and students of all levels conceptualize, build, test, and market a new business over a 54-hour period. The event is organized in collaboration with Techstars.
- Startup Weekends focus on Gulf of Alaska community and agency partner needs, such as regional mariculture, seaweed manufacturing, and community-based solutions.
- We support three Alaskans to attend a Startup Weekend to familiarize themselves with the program and to obtain status of Techstars Startup Weekend Facilitator.
- Startup Weekends are held annually for at least 20 participants.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Workshops
The Workforce Development team leads connections and capacity building workshops with an Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) focus.
- Workshops for at least 30 participants will be held annually and topics will be determined by a contracted “Entrepreneur in Residence” (EIR) working with the IoC researchers.
Entrepreneur in Residence
Interface of Change hosts an “entrepreneur in residence” to facilitate connections between researchers, entrepreneurs, businesses, and communities. Pete Warden is our current Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Read more about Pete here.
Professional Development Opportunities
The workforce development team hosts a series of professional development activities focused on early-career faculty and student development.
Skill Workshops
Skills-based workshops for IoC researchers and partners to help build their skills to support their research.
Funding Workshops
External funding workshops to help build UA researchers’ capacity to pursue follow-on NSF funding.
Mentoring
Early-career faculty mentoring to all IoC faculty hires, one from within IoC as well as a departmental mentor.
IGNITE
In partnership with Alaska INBRE, IoC will host the annual professional development workshop, Individual Growth & New Ideas Through EPSCoR/INBRE (IGNITE). The workshops have tracks for research professionals, staff, and students. The location for IGNITE rotates among UA campuses each year with travel support provided to early-career EPSCoR researchers. IGNITE will host up to 90 participants each year.
Sitka Sound Science Center
We also partner with the Sitka Sound Science Center to place IoC participants in their Scientist in Residency Fellowship (SIRF) and Scientists in the Schools (SIS) programs. Participants will receive science communication training and opportunities to develop their community engagement skills. One SIRF and one SIS will be placed each year.
Student Ambassadors
In the Alaska EPSCoR Student Ambassador program, students work with the Interface of Change Leadership Team to develop the structure and content for annual student-centered networking and professional development meetings. The Student Ambassadors meet with the Leadship Team twice each year.
Travel Awards
To support professional development activities, we offer annual travel awards to fund domestic travel to attend conferences, interact with colleagues, or to engage in other activities to advance an individual’s career and sustain project outcomes. At least three travel awards are distributed each year.