The Research Foundation of The City University of New York received a $400,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028, for the collaborative research initiative "Accelerating Sustainable Partnerships for Innovation, Research, and Entrepreneurship in AI" (ASPIRE-AI). This award supports the development of institutional infrastructure and tools designed to enhance artificial intelligence (AI) research capacity and workforce development across non-R1 institutions. Key deliverables include centralized partnership hubs, faculty development programs, toolkits for managing external partnerships, faculty engagement playbooks, and technology transfer frameworks tailored to under-resourced institutions. The project also produces actionable knowledge and research initiatives integrating AI across multiple disciplines including agriculture, healthcare, climate adaptation, and advanced manufacturing.
ASPIRE-AI establishes a collaborative cohort model demonstrating how non-R1 institutions can leverage external partnerships to build regional capacity for emerging technologies while addressing institutional barriers such as limited infrastructure and fragmented cultures. Through shared resources and a community of practice approach, the project generates intellectual contributions supporting workforce preparedness, interdisciplinary research collaborations, and applied AI innovation while creating a scalable framework for capacity building across participating institutions.