In this special webinar jointly hosted by the UEDA Talent, Innovation, and Place affinity networks, 2024 Award of Excellence winners share deeper insights and thoughts behind their projects. The Awards of Excellence are given in recognition of outstanding economic development initiatives, research, or accomplishments.
Talent: Josh Taylor, The University of Kentucky – #WhatsYourStartDate: A Career Center’s Strategic Scaling Strategies to Take Gen-Z from Backpack to Briefcase
Summary: Graham’s #WhatsYourStartDate initiative seeks to address the challenge of delivering career-readiness know-how to incoming college students. Helping make career management a priority for incoming Gen-Z students by providing them with the tools they need to successfully move from student to career-ready graduate. The program utilizes a tri-fold approach that advances students’ career-readiness through three differentiated channels: Graham in the Office, Graham in the Classroom, and Graham, Virtually.
Innovation: Devin Lavender & Sam Perren, University of Georgia – Rural Engagement Workshop
Summary: The University of Georgia (UGA) Rural Engagement Workshop creates partnerships for high-quality community-engaged research in rural Georgia communities, leading to a change in how academic faculty and outreach and extension partners collaborate. Through a series of five sessions and a trip to rural Georgia, participants in the Rural Engagement Workshop gain a greater understanding of Georgia’s rural demographics and trends, obtain key information on developing sustained relationships with communities, and enhance their ability to collaboratively identify needs for rural research in the state.
Place: Heather McWhorter, University of North Carolina Wilmington – Climate Change and Coastal Resiliency — Turning knowledge to action
Summary: The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) engaged more than 200 volunteers and engaged partners to create initiatives such as Alliance for the Blue Economy (All Blue), EcoInnovate Weekend, Idea Test Lab, NC EcoTech, Ocean Innovation Conference, and Shellfish Mariculture Propel. Participants have ranged from high schoolers to retirees, UNCW students to researchers, elected officials to concerned citizens, entrepreneurs to venture capital. Thousands have been engaged, and startups have been created that are solving problems, raising capital, and creating jobs.