Past Conferences and Institutes

Innovative Practices in Research Mentorship: Getting the Most Out of Your Mentoring Efforts

Date: January 15 - January 16, 2025

Number of Participants: 73

Videos:

Student Advocacy-empowerment 1-16-25

Academic Institute Centralizing Liberatory Mentoring 1-15-25

Summary:

The 2025 Academic Innovation Winter Institute focused on “Innovative Practices in Research Mentorship: Getting the Most Out of Your Mentoring Efforts.” This two-day event centered on effective mentoring of students from diverse populations, helping students overcome the imposter phenomenon, and motivating students by linking research to career readiness. Faculty and staff explored how to cultivate psychological safety, motivate students, and effectively integrate mentoring into their retention, tenure, and promotion requirements. Participants learned strategies for using mentoring to secure grants and create inclusive, empowering learning environments. The event provided actionable tools and best practices for fostering inclusive and holistic student support in research settings. 

During this institute, faculty and staff:

• Gained a deeper understanding of the challenges diverse student populations face and how to mentor them holistically. 
• Learned strategies to address and help students overcome the imposter phenomenon through mentoring. 
• Explored how effective mentoring practices can contribute to grant acquisition and research success. 
• Identified key characteristics of excellence in undergraduate research mentoring and how to foster them. 
• Learned how to create inclusive, safe spaces that promote psychological safety and belonging for students. 
• Engaged in discussions on balancing student advocacy with empowerment and learn practical tools for motivating students and helping them find research opportunities. 
• Developed action plans to integrate mentoring practices into their academic work and research environments.

Exploring Micro-Internships: A Guide to Understanding and Successfully Implementing Short-Term Work Experiences

Date: January 17 - 18, 2024

Number of Participants: 66

Videos:

What are Micro-Internships?

All about Micro-Internships

Parker-Dewey 

Faculty Panel 

Summary: The 2024 Academic Innovation Winter Institute focused on the theme of 'Exploring Micro-Internships: A Guide to Understanding and Successfully Implement Short-Term Work Experiences.' This event brought together over 60 faculty and staff members from various colleges, offering workshops and panel discussions with insights from industry partner Parker Dewey. The institute emphasized the importance of Micro-Internships in enhancing student career readiness, showcasing how these short-term, practical experiences can significantly impact students' future career paths.  

During this institute faculty and staff:

• Gained an understanding of the significance and necessity of micro-internships in relation to accessibility, equity, and student career readiness.  
• Acquired knowledge and tools to integrate micro-internships into your syllabi.  
• Learned effective methods for evaluating and assessing micro-internships as a component of the course.  
• Gained insights into the identity and contributions of our campus partner Parker-Dewey within the micro-internship landscape.  
• Engaged in the NSF INVESTS research on micro-internships.  

Exploring Digital Badging to Support Career and Professional Readiness

Date: January 18 - 20, 2023

Number of Participants: 75

Videos:

How Badging Supports the Career Readiness Model

Industry Leaders' Perspective on the Role of Digital Badging

Student Experience of Digital Badging

CPP Faculty and Staff Panel

Summary: This 3-day in-person institute assisted faculty and staff of all disciplines to learn about digital badging to support career and professional readiness across campus.

During this institute, faculty and staff:

• Explored the process of how to become a digital badge issuer.
• Had the opportunity to hear from faculty and staff who have issued digital badges.
• Learned how digital badging can prepare students for career readiness and the future of work.
• Heard from industry leaders on the value of digital credentials and how digital badges influence the hiring process.
• Learned how digital badging has been implemented on different campuses.

Develop, Design, and Deepen Your PolyX

Date: Jan 19 - 20, 2022

Number of Participants: 28

Articles:

 PolyCentric Article

Summary: The LTD Winter Institute was a FREE 2-day virtual institute that assisted faculty and staff of all disciplines in creating and submitting their Signature Polytechnic Experience (PolyX) to the PolyX Hub!

During this institute faculty and staff:

• Learned about PolyX and its core elements
• Heard from faculty and staff who have successfully run a PolyX
• Saw examples of student work that have resulted from a PolyX
• Got feedback on their PolyX application
• Worked on their PolyX
• Got resources to support their PolyX

First Experience RELOADED

Date: January 20 - 21, 2021

Number of Participants: 50

Facilitators: N/A

Summary: The LTD Winter 2021 Institute hosted staff and faculty from different disciplines who teach or may be interested in teaching a First Year Experience (FYE) class. The attendees got together on Zoom over the course of two days and learned about the FYE ecosystem and Signature Polytechnic Experiences (PolyX), heard from FYE student panels and PolyX panels, and had the chance to network and hear from their colleagues.

Re-inventing the First Year Experience 1.0

Date: January 14 - 16, 2020

Number of Participants: 14

Facilitators: N/A

Exploring the Future of Work 

Date: May 29 - May 31, 2024 

Number of Participants: 136 

Summary: The 2024 Academic Innovation Summer Conference was a dynamic and forward-thinking three-day event centered on “Exploring the Future of Work.” It brought together faculty and staff from Cal Poly Pomona and other universities to delve into the critical intersection of education and the evolving workforce. Participants engaged with insightful keynote presentations, interactive panel discussions, and hands-on workshops led by renowned experts in education and workforce development. These sessions provided a platform for sharing innovative strategies and fostering collaborative networks to build a more resilient and adaptive future. 
 
Attendees participated in two main tracks: Career Readiness in the Curriculum and Career Readiness through Campus Student Employment. These tracks offered a comprehensive exploration of integrating career preparedness into academic programs and campus employment opportunities. The conference also featured keynote addresses from distinguished leaders such as Jeremy Podany, Dr. Olukemi Sawyerr, and Matthew Brink.  

During this conference faculty and staff:  

• Grasped the essentials of career readiness integration into curricula, emphasizing its significance for student success in the workforce. 

• Mastered the design and assessment of career-preparedness-focused curricula using adaptable tools and methodologies for diverse teaching formats. 

• Applied interdisciplinary strategies for career readiness in academic programs, leveraging campus resources and engaging in hands-on workshops. 

• Gained insights from employer and alumni panels on valued skills and competencies, informing actionable plans for curriculum enhancement. 

• Collaborated with career centers and academic colleagues to implement and refine career readiness initiatives, ultimately empowering students for professional success. 

• Gained a comprehensive understanding of NACE Career Readiness Competencies and their importance in student employment. 

• Learned practical strategies for integrating competency development into student employment practices. 

• Learned how to use the Iowa GROW® initiative and guided reflection to make student employment a high-impact learning experience. 

• Equipped managers with tools and strategies for incorporating guided reflection into their management practices, enhancing students' competency awareness and workplace performance. 

Pathways to the Future: Exploring the Intersection of Learning, Work, and Community

Date: May 31 – June 2, 2023

Number of Participants: 202

Summary: The AI Summer Conference was a FREE 3-day conference that welcomed faculty and staff from both Cal Poly Pomona and all interested faculty and staff from Southern California and consisted of three tracks with seven to eight sessions each and a plenary on Pathways to the Future: Exploring the Intersection of Learning, Work, and Community. In the FYE track, faculty and staff had the opportunity to focus on identifying core components of a FYE course, identify the resources and services available to support first-year students, develop a sense of community among FYE stakeholders across campuses, as well as identify ways of making data informed decisions to support first-year students The mentoring track provided staff and faculty the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of micro-credentials and digital badges, as well as the growing demand for skills in the workforce. Attendees also learned about micro-pathways to high-demand jobs and how to use digital marketing to better understand the needs of students. Overall, participants will be better equipped to navigate the changing landscape of education and workforce development. Lastly, the digital badging track aimed to cover various forms of mentoring aka developmental relationships that we may witness in academic settings, including peer/near-peer mentoring, faculty-student, and staff-student mentoring. The interactive badging sessions included panels, reflections by successful mentors, and hands-on learning opportunities. 

During this conference faculty and staff:

• Identified core components of a FYE course, as well as the resources and services available to support first-year students. 
• Developed a sense of community among FYE stakeholders across campuses. 
• Acquired a comprehensive understanding of micro-credentials and digital badges. 
• Discovered micro-pathways to highly sought-after job opportunities and become familiar with the increasing demand for skills in the workforce. 
• Learned how to leverage digital marketing to gain insight into the needs of students. 
• Enhanced their ability to navigate the evolving landscape of education and workforce development. 
• Explained the different shapes and form mentoring can occur in academic settings. 
• Explained the benefits of mentoring relationships for both mentee and mentors. 
• Identified the unique needs of mentees with diverse backgrounds including incoming freshmen, undergraduate researchers, first-generation, URM, and those at the intersection of diverse backgrounds.  
• Identified and leverage potential resources to complement your own mentoring. 
• Developed new and/or enhance your existing mentoring plan. 

Inclusive Excellence in PolyX

Date: June 1 - 3, 2022

Number of Participants: 110

Videos:

 Watch Keynote Speech

Watch Recorded Workshop

Summary: The LTD Summer Conference was a FREE 3-day conference that consisted of three tracks with seven to eight sessions each and a plenary on Inclusive Excellence. Faculty and Staff had the opportunity to design and plan for inclusive excellence in the Community Engaged Learning track (CEL), explored what is a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) to develop their own CUREs, and engaged in learning, knowledge sharing, and discovering around topics related to first-year college students in the First Year Experiences Track (FYE).

During this conference faculty and staff:

•  Participated in eight workshops centered on inclusive excellence within the field of community engagement in the Community Engaged Learning Track (CEL). 
•  Faculty and staff were able to design and plan for inclusive excellence within community engagement. 
• Explored what is a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE), elements of a successful CUREs, benefits of having a CURES, and how to implement a CUREs in their own class. 
• Heard from faculty members who have implemented CUREs in their courses, networked with other like-minded faculty members, and received hands-on assistance in developing or brainstorming their own CUREs.
• Engaged in learning, knowledge sharing, and discovering around topics related to first-year college students in the First Year Experiences Track (FYE). 
• Identified core components of a FYE course. 
• Identified the resources and services available to support first-year students.
• Developed a sense of community among FYE stakeholders.
• Identified ways of making data informed decisions to support first-year students. 

Calling in: An Invitation to Develop Conscious Engagement, Self-Inquiry, and Application

Date: June 2 - 4, 2021

Number of Participants: 89

Facilitators: Analena Hassberg (PDF), Kenjus Watson (PDF)

Sponsors: Learn Through Discovery, Center for Community Engagement, Ethnic and Women's Studies,  First Year Experience 

Learning Outcomes: By the end of the institute, participants in the LTD Summer 2021 Institute will be able to:

• Design a safe space where students engage in dialogs about anti-racist and anti-colonial issues and practices
• Facilitate conversations about anti-racism, anti-colonialism, and intersectionality (PDF) in a way that is inclusive and respectful of diverse and divergent perspectives
• Develop a signature polytechnic experience (PolyX) that actively engages students with anti-racist and anti-colonial practices within a community

Summary: Read Summary (PDF)

Re-inventing the First Year Experience 2.0

Date: June 2 - 5, 2020

Number of Participants: 52

Facilitators: Kristin Wobbe & Caitlyn Keller

The Innovative Classroom: Beyond the Four Walls

Date: August 13 - 15, 2020

Number of Participants: 28

Facilitators: Marisol Morales & Elaine Ikeda

Design Thinking

Date: June 12 - 14, 2018

Number of Participants: 25

Facilitators: AJ Juliani