Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the fourth industrial revolution…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, robotics, block chain, and virtual reality) and innovative business models (e.g., uber, airbnb, and bowery) fundamentally changed the way we do business and farm. Yet, our current preparations for our students do not keep abreast of these massive changes and associated business opportunities. To fill the educational GAP, this project proposes various instructional tools and methods that can enhance entrepreneurship competencies of students, faculty and rural business communities via 4IR technologies and innovative business models (IBM), together with critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The proposed five objectives are designed with the aim of wider dissemination and sustainable impacts. The outcomes of objective 1 (instructional modules) and objective 2 (problem-solving service-learning projects) will be uploaded to an open educational resource (OER) platform (pressbooks) which faculty and students can access at no cost (objective 3). The OER will be effectively utilized for infusing the contents into existing courses and special topics classes (objective 4) and faculty/cooperative extension professional workshops (objective 5).to help potential adopters' continuous use of the deliverables, various support will be provided including an interactive support system (i.e., learning community) and implementation guides at the OER. For widespread dissemination, faculty from entire agriculture disciplines will be involved from the module development and the OER will be connected to cooperative extension portal. This project effectively addresses the national challenge of the number and diversity of students by educating students enrolled in north carolina state university and north carolina a & t state university where 88% of enrolled students are minorities. This study takes an ecosystem approach from farm to final consumers; therefore, the impacts and cooperation through the entire project period and beyond will be multidisciplinary.