Conference: tribal college and university cyberinfrastructure workshop

The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) received a $123,442 project grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070) to host the Tribal College and University (TCU) Cyberinfrastructure Workshop. Awarded on June 1, 2025, with completion by May 31, 2026, the workshop delivers in-person professional development and capacity-building services for information technology directors, chief information officers, administrators, IT staff, and faculty from tribal colleges and universities across the United States. The workshop facilitates knowledge exchange on critical cyberinfrastructure topics including strategic planning, artificial intelligence engagement, cybersecurity, data sovereignty, federated identity, and connectivity through presentations and panel discussions led by subject matter experts from tribal institutions and the national research and education community.

The workshop addresses a significant geographic isolation challenge by bringing together geographically dispersed TCU personnel to develop technical expertise in cyberinfrastructure technologies relevant to tribal communities and rural regions they serve. By strengthening TCU cyberinfrastructure capacity through collaborative knowledge-sharing and skills development, AIHEC enables tribal institutions to extend these capabilities to regional K-12 schools and tribal agencies. This award reflects NSF's commitment to advancing cyberinfrastructure capabilities and broadening participation in science and engineering research through indigenous higher education institutions. No subawards are planned under this project grant.

Abstract

The tribal college and university (TCU) cyberinfrastructure (CI) workshop provides an opportunity for the IT directors, chief information officers (cios), and other administrators, IT staff, or faculty at the tcus, who are geographically isolated across the united states, to meet in-person, exchange best practices, interact with invited national cyberinfrastructure (CI) experts, and collaborate across TCU CI initiatives, academic areas, and/or geographical regions. The workshop is organized by the american indian higher education consortium (aihec) and led by a program committee consisting of aihec staff and TCU IT staff. Cyberinfrastructure topic areas expected to be addressed through both presentations and in-depth panel discussions include CI strategic planning, AI engagement, cybersecurity and data sovereignty, federated identity, and connectivity. Workshop panelists and presenters come from the tcus, IT staff, and faculty but also include external subject matter experts and research and education community members. The intellectual merit of the workshop includes the opportunity for TCU staff knowledge and skill development focused on new and existing cyberinfrastructure technologies in support of science and engineering applications relevant to the tribal colleges and the rural communities they serve. Given the important role the tcus play in their communities, implementation of capacity-building relationships with tcus will enable them to serve a similar function to their area k-12 schools and tribal agencies, advancing them through the adoption of the shared CI tools and resources. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.