OASIS Academic Innovation Accelerator Program

The OASIS Academic Innovation Accelerator program supports innovative, one-year pilot projects that drive progress towards NC State’s institutional academic goals. By aligning with college and unit priorities, OASIS ensures a strong foundation for scalable innovation and meaningful impact.

OASIS provides a platform for innovation that is both locally grounded and institutionally aligned. Projects contribute directly to the university’s Wolfpack 2030 strategic plan and support division-specific strategies.

Selected projects join a cohort that prototypes bold ideas, integrates research and practice, and engages students as active partners in design. 

Why Participate?

• Access to funding for transformative one-year pilot projects
  
• Institutional support and expertise, including curriculum innovation, program design, market research, marketing communications and data analysis, to help align your project with NC State’s academic and strategic priorities
  
• Opportunity to innovate locally with institutional impact
  
• Participate in a cohort program, receiving ongoing support and project feedback along the way
  
• Collaborate across colleges and units for broader reach

Focus Areas for 2025-26 Projects

Projects address one or more of the focus areas outlined below.

Academic Portfolio and Departmental Strategy

• Analyze and optimize degree, certificate and non-credit offerings at the department or program level.
  
• Advance departmental goals through program redesign, curriculum innovation, credential development or professional learning opportunities.
  
• Inform academic portfolio design methods by identifying which programs to grow, transform or reframe for the future.
  
• Encourage interdisciplinary collaboration where disciplinary boundaries limit innovation.

Curriculum Redesign Based on Labor Market and Skills Analytics

• Use labor market and skills data to align learning outcomes with workforce needs, especially in fields reshaped by AI.
  
• How to incorporate and assess durable skills in these learning pathways.

Innovative Learning Pathways, Research and Partnerships

• Pilot flexible, future-focused pathways that connect non-credit, certificates and degrees.
  
• Conduct applied research on learning innovation, learning science or technology-enhanced instruction.
  
• Build external partnerships (employers, industry, community, global institutions) to strengthen the learning ecosystem and ensure programs remain relevant, scalable and sustainable.

Events, Storytelling and Outreach

• Showcase academic innovation through public events, case studies and media.
  
• Contribute to a shared institutional narrative about how NC State is shaping education for the future of work and lifelong learning through credit and non-credit innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration and external partnerships.

Selected 2025-2026 Pilot Projects

Textiles2Go: AI-Enabled Course Design to Create Affordable and Accessible Pathways from Non-Credit Micro-Credentials to Graduate Study

• Lead: Andre West, professor and director, Zeis Textile Extension
• Zeis Textile Extension, Wilson College of Textiles

FER Future Force: A Framework for Industry-Driven Curriculum Development 

• Leads: Tiana Elame, lecturer, and Tamara Pandolfo, associate teaching professor
• Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, College of Natural Resources

Non-Credit Program Census 

• Lead: Mark Bernhard, vice provost for Continuing and Lifelong Education
• NC State Continuing and Lifelong Education

Co-Designing the Next-Generation Analytics Curriculum 

• Lead: Bill Rand, Goodnight Executive Director
• Institute for Advanced Analytics

Designing Esports Workforce Development and Curriculum 

• Lead: Kyle Bunds, associate professor and director of undergraduate programs
• Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, College of Natural Resources

Future Proof the English Degree: Developing an AI-Infused Curriculum with Human and Labor Market Insights

• Lead: Huiling Ding, professor
• Department of English, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Using Action Research to Guide NC State’s Institutional Readiness for the AI Workforce

• Lead: Meghan Manfra, professor and director of graduate programs
• Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences, College of Education

Contact Information

For questions or assistance with your proposal, please contact: