Project Here

UNI Students Empower Iowa Communities

PROJECT HERE is an interdisciplinary, university-wide community outreach initiative that combines the energy and innovation of UNI faculty and hundreds of students with Iowa community partners throughout the state. UNI students want to solve real problems and enrich the lives of Iowans and are eager to act on what they know. PROJECT HERE provides substantial, rewarding experiences for UNI students to focus attention on the home region and problem-solving at the community scale. 

Community Engagement
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Student at computer

A focused undertaking serves our region and helps reclaim our standing (as a university) as a force for positive change.

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Student behind a video camera

PROJECT HERE

PROJECT HERE illustrates how UNI is not a luxury but a necessity.

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Women standing behind table

PROJECT HERE

At UNI we develop engaged citizens (and are engaged citizens ourselves)

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Student working on wheat paste mural

PROJECT HERE

PROJECT HERE helps us develop confidence in ourselves and demonstrates to students that we have agency in our state and are capable of creating positive change and powerful human experiences.

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faculty and staff in a mtg

PROJECT HERE

PROJECT HERE started in Waterloo with an ongoing and growing list of projects.

Successful community engagement involves relationship building with community partners. Through its pilot phase, PROJECT HERE staff has built strong relationships with numerous community partners and will work closely with faculty members and students to design meaningful projects that genuinely impact communities. Here are the following paths for participation:

  • In-Class Project:  For the 2023-2024 pilot phase, 18 faculty members will be integrating PROJECT HERE into their classes. These faculty come from every college at UNI, and represent a myriad of programs:  journalism, digital photography, performance studies, management, biology, communication and media, political science, graphic technology, social studies education, theater, modern languages and literature, health services, interactive digital studies, science education, geography, and art. Some participating faculty have enrolled in the annual Service Learning Institute (late May) to develop synergy and collaborative, cross-disciplinary approaches to class project design. Faculty might devote a day, a week, or an entire semester to PROJECT HERE. 
  • Microcredentials: As UNI develops their microcredential strategy, students will be able to receive credit for their involvement in a specified unit of PROJECT HERE. We will provide multiple jumping on and off points. 
  • Individual Studies: Students developing independent coursework can join into any one of these pilot projects within PROJECT HERE. 
  • Internships: Many UNI programs require internships. PROJECT HERE can satisfy many internship requirements across the university, and help students collaborate on interdisciplinary projects. 
  • Picking up extra credits. Many students find themselves in their senior year with 1 or 2 credits short of finishing their coursework. PROJECT HERE can meet that need.  
PROJECT HERE: Waterloo
PROJECT HERE: Waverly/Shell Rock
PROJECT HERE challenges students to embrace their region
UNI receives grant to turn old photos into interactive exhibit