UNO’s Open AI Challenge RFP is Now Open!

The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is pleased to announce that the Request for Proposal (RFP) portion of the Open AI Challenge is now open!

Submit an RFP today for the opportunity to receive one of UNO’s 1000 enterprise ChatGPT licenses. The UNO Division of Innovative and Learning-Centric Initiatives (ILCI) is seeking proposals that cultivate creativity, enhance engagement, and improve efficiency on campus. With the 1000 licenses available, ILCI is seeking to pilot projects from across the campus for broad impact and inquiry, and the division anticipates requests coming forward that advance teaching and learning, enhance operational efficiency, or amplify research.

• If you are ready and would like to request access to UNO’s enterprise ChatGPT environment for a project or use case, please submit your proposal.

• If you would like to view the proposal form but aren’t quite ready to submit, please visit the Open AI Challenge website.

• The priority RFP deadline is Aug. 1, and the RFP will remain open until Aug. 31 to compensate for faculty members’ schedules and the fall semester start date.

Access to UNO’s enterprise ChatGPT environment will be given for one semester at a time, so individuals selected this round will have access through December. If an individual wishes to maintain access across multiple semesters, you will simply complete a new RFP for the additional Spring or Summer 2025 term.

Free Trainings and Microcredentials for UNO Faculty and Staff

Trainings

ILCI is launching a free internal UNO training called "The AI Advantage: Transforming Teaching and Preparing Students to Thrive" on July 8. This six-week non-credit course gives an overview of generative AI, walks faculty and staff through adapting their personal philosophies for the AI world; shares strategies for incorporating AI into courses, learning experiences, and optimization processes; and prepares individuals to be responsible users of AI.

This training is capped at 120 participants, so please register today if you would like to claim your seat in this program. Since this training is asynchronous, individuals may register and begin the training through July 12. A second run of this training will happen during the 2024-25 academic year if you are interested but unable to participate at this time.

Microcredentials

ILCI is partnering with a number of subject matters experts to create a series of AI-focused non-credit microcredentials for public registration. The division plans to make the first module (which will take someone roughly three hours to complete and is a great introduction to AI) of one such microcredential entitled "AI Jumpstart" available for faculty and staff at UNO for free starting on August 1.

This will provide an overview of generative AI, what you can do with it, and how to be a good prompt engineer. If you are interested in this learning opportunity, be sure to register today. Note, if you already registered for the six-week "AI Advantage" program you do not need to also enroll in the three-hour "AI Jumpstart" course.

Grant Funding Available for AI Course Redevelopment

ILCI is now offering its first round of AI-Powered Teaching Grants to help faculty integrate Generative AI into your course(s). An Instructional Designer on our Digital Learning team will collaborate with you to effectively and meaningfully implement AI into your teaching in three different ways:

All full and part-time faculty are eligible to apply for AI-Powered Teaching Grants, but ILCI is especially interested in funding grants for courses in major or capstone classes where faculty choose to implement a module or multiple learning opportunities into their course that demonstrates AI in the respective field and prepares students for using AI appropriately in their respective sector of the workforce.

If you are interested in pursuing an AI-Powered Teaching Grant, apply here by Sept. 16. Grants are awarded based on available funds. More AI-Powered Teaching Grant opportunities will be available at a later date in the 2024-25 academic year.

Set Yourself Apart by Earning an AI-Powered Educator Digital Badge

This non-credit professional development program, designed to build your portfolio of AI skills, is open to all UNO faculty, staff, and graduate assistants. Choose from a series of offerings designed to help you interact with AI tools, integrate them into your course and work, and create AI materials that help prepare students for the future of work.

Earning the AI-Powered Educator badge requires completion of one non-credit six-week course called "The AI Advantage: Transforming Teaching and Preparing Students to Thrive" as well as four additional “elective” activities. When a digital badge has been earned, it is easily shared through platforms like LinkedIn. For more information, visit the AI-Powered Educator Badge website.

Consider Joining UNO’s AI Campus Consortium

UNO’s AI Learning Lab will create a UNO Campus AI Consortium, a key group of stakeholders from each college, Academic Affairs, ITS, Student Success, ILCI, IESS, and other units to help provide guidance and input to the campus and AI Learning Lab on all things related to AI. This is a rapidly changing technology with a wide variety of factors for our UNO campus to consider; having a dedicated committee to discuss AI and make related recommendations will help position our campus for long-term success. If you are interested in participating in this committee, please reach out to Myah Lanoux-Nguyen at mlanoux-nguyen@unomaha.edu.

Additional Resources on UNO’s New AI Learning Lab Website

ILCI recently launched a new website for UNO’s AI Learning Lab. Here, you will find the most up-to-date information about this exciting new initiative at UNO. For more information about the Lab, please contact Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovative and Learning-Centric Initiatives Jaci Lindburg, Ph.D., at jlindburg@unomaha.edu or Instructional Designer Cassie Mallette at cassiemallette@unomaha.edu.