CENI invites applications for inaugural affiliate cohort

From: The Center for Educational Networks and Impacts  

The Center for Educational Networks and Impacts (CENI) at Virginia Tech is accepting applications for our inaugural cohort of affiliated researchers. Affiliate status recognizes and enhances the work of a diverse network of faculty, postdoctoral scholars, and educators whose research is aligned with CENI’s mission. The program will advance interdisciplinary research partnerships in education ecosystems. 

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but applications received by Jan. 31 will receive priority consideration for 2025.

About CENI

The Center for Educational Networks and Impacts advances applied research and community engagement to address complex and persistent issues in education ecosystems. 

We build and maintain long-term relationships with regional schools, museums, and programs for reciprocal learning and positive collaborative change. Housed in the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT), CENI supports a place-based research infrastructure to foster interdisciplinary engagement with Virginia Tech faculty and students.

Our nationally recognized, impact-focused agenda leverages external funding to advance this mission in support of the following core research priorities:

Dynamics of Educational Partnerships and Collaborative Networks: Projects that advance the scholarship and practice of interorganizational collaboration in pursuit of positive educational outcomes. This work strengthens collective, multisector responses to evolving educational, economic, political, and social contexts.

Systemic Change in Youth and Community Education: Projects that inform transformative change initiatives by attending to the complexity and ambiguity inherent in educational systems. This work enables policy reform, shifts paradigms, and stimulates innovative educational practices while emphasizing the role education plays in creating a just and equitable future.

Applied Education Research in Formal and Informal Learning Environments: Projects that create or enhance learning environments that support student creativity, capacity for collaboration, and preparation for lifelong learning. This work encourages interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and community-engaged collaborative problem-solving.

Affiliate Program Details

Eligibility

• Faculty Affiliates: Any Virginia Tech faculty member involved in research or scholarship aligned with CENI’s mission or core research priorities is encouraged to apply to the faculty affiliate program.
• Postdoctoral Affiliate: Individuals serving in a postdoctoral position at Virginia Tech are eligible to apply for CENI affiliation.
• External Affiliate: Scholars and educators who are not employed at Virginia Tech but are engaged in synergistic research or active partnerships with CENI are eligible to apply for affiliation with the center.

Benefits

Affiliates have access to the following benefits:

• Use of the CENI affiliate title (Faculty Affiliate, Postdoctoral Affiliate) and recognition on the CENI website
• Membership in a dynamic community of scholars dedicated to the enhancement of education systems
• Opportunities to participate in CENI planning and joint grant proposals, engage with education partners, and have your work featured in Dialogues: Education Research and Practice for a growing audience of educators and researchers
• Priority access to CENI training and workshops for you and your students
• Customized guidance on broader impacts planning for education and workforce development
• Access to CENI co-working spaces, as available
• Academic year faculty from VT are eligible to apply for a CENI summer stipend ($5,000) to support co-development of external funding proposals.

Expectations

In return, we ask that you:

• Develop new research projects and/or expand existing projects in collaboration with other CENI-affiliated faculty
• Acknowledge CENI support on publications and presentations, when appropriate
• Share your research with the CENI community through ICAT and CENI-sponsored forums (e.g., VT Science Festival, ICAT Day, or Hokie for a Day)
• Participate in or attend CENI events
• Indicate CENI affiliation on your funding proposals [designating proposals as ICAT sponsored has no direct impact on your budget but allows VT to monitor its support for investment institutes] (VT only)
• Serve on committees or as a peer reviewer for CENI’s Dialogues: Education Research and Practice publication
• Annually, submit a progress report for publications, grants, and programs.

We expect that active participation in the CENI affiliate program will require a flexible commitment of 2-3 hours per month.

How to apply

Please submit your CV and a brief statement about how your scholarship aligns with CENI’s research and engagement priorities. Materials may be submitted to ceni@vt.edu.  

Contact us at ceni@vt.edu with questions about our center or the affiliate program.