{"id":211818,"date":"2025-03-06T10:11:30","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T20:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=211818"},"modified":"2025-05-30T14:40:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T00:40:49","slug":"el3vate-program-across-uh-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/03\/06\/el3vate-program-across-uh-system\/","title":{"rendered":"EL3vate Program sparks innovation, entrepreneurship across <abbr>UH<\/abbr> System"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><figure id=\"attachment_211819\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-211819\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/system-innovation-el3vate-program-participants.jpg\" alt=\"people standing and smiling\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-211819\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/system-innovation-el3vate-program-participants.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/system-innovation-el3vate-program-participants-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/system-innovation-el3vate-program-participants-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-211819\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">EL3vate participants, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Online Innovation Center, Maui Economic Development Board and Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship teams at the Walter Dods, <abbr>Jr<\/abbr>. <abbr>RISE<\/abbr> Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uhonline.hawaii.edu\/uhoic\/programs\/el3vate\/\">EL3vate Program<\/a>, a year-long professional development initiative, is fostering innovation and entrepreneurship across the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> system. After a successful inaugural cohort in 2024, the program is now recruiting faculty for its 2025 cohort.<\/p>\n<p>Developed in collaboration with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uhonline.hawaii.edu\/uhoic\/\"><abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> Online Innovation Center<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pace.shidler.hawaii.edu\/\">Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship<\/a> (<abbr>PACE<\/abbr>) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.medb.org\/\">Maui Economic Development Board<\/a>, the program assists faculty with integrating experiential learning, entrepreneurial frameworks and engineering design thinking into their course curricula.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The EL3vate Program is equipping <abbr>UH<\/abbr> faculty with the tools, industry connections, and hands-on learning strategies needed to inspire the next generation of innovators,&rdquo; said <abbr>PACE<\/abbr> Executive Director Sandra Fujiyama. &ldquo;We\u2019re not only transforming education at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> but also driving real-world impact across <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s communities and industries.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Apply for the 2025 cohort<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uhonline.hawaii.edu\/uhoic\/programs\/el3vate\/\">Applications for the 2025 EL3vate cohort are open<\/a>. <abbr>UH<\/abbr> faculty looking to enhance their teaching and provide students with hands-on learning experiences are encouraged to learn more and apply by March 28.<\/p>\n<h2>Inaugural cohort success<\/h2>\n<p>The first cohort has sparked exciting results:<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_211820\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-211820\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/system-innovation-el3vate-program-kauweloa-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"people on a stage and smiling\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-211820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/system-innovation-el3vate-program-kauweloa-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/system-innovation-el3vate-program-kauweloa-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/system-innovation-el3vate-program-kauweloa.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-211820\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sky Kauweloa and his students<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><abbr>PACE<\/abbr> competitions: EL3vate participants Associate Professor Kacie Ho (<abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa <a href=\"https:\/\/cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu\/\">College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience<\/a>), Assistant Professor Yasushi Ishida (<abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arch.hawaii.edu\/\">School of Architecture<\/a>) and Assistant Professor Xiaodan Mao-Clark (<abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa <a href=\"https:\/\/shidler.hawaii.edu\/tim\">School of Travel Industry Management<\/a> in the <a href=\"https:\/\/shidler.hawaii.edu\/\">Shidler College of Business<\/a>) introduced their students to <abbr>PACE<\/abbr> business and innovation competitions encouraging entrepreneurial thinking and real-world problem-solving. Ho and Ishida\u2019s students were among the awardees in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/11\/13\/inaugural-innovate-808-competition\/\">Innovate 808 competition<\/a> with their kimchee and marinara flavor chip seasonings and an architectural storefront makeover, respectively.<\/li>\n<li>Cross-disciplinary collaborations and community engagement: Ishida partnered with Gary Albitz (<a href=\"https:\/\/maui.hawaii.edu\/\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> Maui College<\/a> business and hospitality) on a Lahaina-focused course initiative, blending design and business perspectives. As part of the project, Ishida utilized the maker spaces at the Walter Dods, <abbr title=\"Junior\">Jr<\/abbr>. <abbr title=\"Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs\">RISE<\/abbr> Center to <abbr title=\"3 Dimensional\">3D<\/abbr> print first terrain models of Lahaina, with support from student <abbr>PACE<\/abbr> Leaders in the Maker program. In a separate collaboration, Kimberly Russell (<abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo <a href=\"https:\/\/hilo.hawaii.edu\/academics\/cas\/\">College of Arts and Sciences<\/a>) and Mao-Clark worked together on an initiative where their students engaged with the community, strengthening their learning experience through real-world connections.<\/li>\n<li>Business and esports: <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Esports students are gaining invaluable entrepreneurial skills and industry connections through a dynamic collaboration between Nyle Sky Kauweloa (<abbr>UH<\/abbr> Esports director and <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa specialist faculty for interdisciplinary studies) and <abbr>PACE<\/abbr>. This ongoing partnership, known as PACE X <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Esports, has recently provided students with two impactful LevelUp workshops and an engaging panel discussion co-hosted with the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eng.hawaii.edu\/\">College of Engineering<\/a>. Industry leaders from top gaming companies shared their expertise, illuminating exciting career opportunities in esports and gaming management. As a testament to the program&#8217;s success, three of Kauweloa&#8217;s students are now participating in the <abbr>PACE<\/abbr> Entrepreneurs program, where they are developing an innovative pop-up <abbr>PC<\/abbr> cafe concept.<\/li>\n<li>Course redesign: With guidance and support from the EL3vate program, faculty were able to integrate the 4Cs: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Communication in addition to the other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uhonline.hawaii.edu\/uhoic\/programs\/el3vate\/#plos\">EL3vate program learning outcomes<\/a> into their course learning objectives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The program assists faculty with integrating experiential learning, entrepreneurial frameworks and engineering design thinking into their course curricula.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[240,498,318,179,212,182,734,1405,1505,1466,1467,425,239,103,146,71,14,9,60,947],"class_list":["post-211818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-architecture","tag-business","tag-college-of-arts-and-sciences","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-engineering","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-esports","tag-innovation","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-pacific-asian-center-for-entrepreneurship","tag-school-of-architecture","tag-school-of-travel-industry-management","tag-shidler-college-of-business","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","tag-maui-college","tag-uh-system","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211818"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216971,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211818\/revisions\/216971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}