The theme of the 2023-2024 Explorer Challenge is "Integrating Inclusive Practices into Research." Project teams will be expected to explain in their pre-proposal and final proposal how their project incorporates inclusive practices in some way.
Inclusive practices refer to approaches to research and practice which recognize and value diverse identities (i.e. race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, religion, etc.) and which attempt to increase accessibility and representation of those diverse identities within a field, organization, or practice.
Note: Inclusive practice is a wide category which can be applied to Explorer Challenge projects in many different and creative ways.
The 2019-2020 Explorer Challenge competition was also focused on inclusive practices. The three awarded projects are good examples of how inclusive practices can be effectively integrated into research projects:
The Latinx Research Scholars Program
PI: Lisa M. Edwards
The ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Latinx Research Scholars Program (LRSP) is an innovative program designed to provide undergraduate students with a mentored experience in community-engaged research within the Milwaukee Latinx community. A cohort of undergraduate students will receive mentorship, training, professional development and research opportunities with MU faculty, graduate students and community agencies.
Project Water Internship Program
PI: Krassimira Hristova
The Project Water Internship Program will expand the outreach capacity of Project Water to address the critical needs of both clean drinking water and surface water used for recreational opportunities in Milwaukee’s urban environment. Marquette undergraduate students will be challenged to develop cutting edge water filtration techniques and work with high school students to conduct innovative research aiming to reduce contamination levels in our freshwater systems.
Community Experts in the Classroom: Enacting Humanistic Pedagogy in a Carceral Context
PI: Marisola Xhelili Ciaccio
In order to create immersive community pedagogy at Marquette, this project aims to create blended courses where Marquette undergraduates and currently/formerly incarcerated individuals can study the topics of justice, freedom, and identity together. These courses will invite community experts affected by incarceration to serve as co-instructors in the creation and implementation of blended courses, with the goals of offering more opportunities to the formerly incarcerated, increasing diverse leadership representation, and utilizing personal experience in the carceral system as a valuable knowledge base for students.
Please refer to the following resources to learn more about inclusive practices and diversity within the field of research and innovation.
If you still have questions about how to incorporate inclusive practices into your Explorer Challenge proposal, email innovation@marquette.edu.
