Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Bridgeport Inc. received a $400,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084), effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028. The ASPIRE-AI (Accelerating Sustainable Partnerships for Innovation, Research, and Entrepreneurship in AI) project delivers institutional capacity-building services and strategic partnership infrastructure to advance artificial intelligence research and innovation across non-R1 institutions. Core deliverables include the establishment of centralized partnership hubs, comprehensive faculty development programs, and frameworks for facilitating interdisciplinary research collaborations. The project generates intellectual products including toolkits for managing external partnerships, faculty engagement playbooks, and technology transfer frameworks specifically designed for under-resourced institutions.

Through cohort collaboration among participating institutions, ASPIRE-AI creates a community of practice model demonstrating how non-R1 institutions can leverage external partnerships to enhance regional capacity in emerging technologies. The project integrates AI applications across multiple disciplinary fields—including agriculture, healthcare, climate adaptation, and advanced manufacturing—while simultaneously advancing workforce preparedness and regional economic development. By addressing structural barriers such as limited infrastructure and fragmented institutional cultures, the initiative produces actionable knowledge and tools that support applied AI research translation and innovation while building sustainable capacity for technology transfer and commercialization within resource-constrained academic environments.