Learn about funding opportunities and pilot project support available to BU leadership, faculty, and staff.

Seek Support for Pilot Projects

The Shipley Center for Digital Learning & Innovation is dedicated to helping academic leadership prepare for the future. We offer consultative services and effective project incubation for deans and academic leaders at BU schools and colleges. We help to cultivate innovative new experiments that improve student learning outcomes and advance the value we offer to our students – from undergraduate mentoring and tutoring to well-managed lifelong learning initiatives. We fund and support innovative learning projects across Boston University and work with faculty and department administrators to develop and roll out their concepts. Contact the Shipley Center team to discuss your ideas for potential experiments.

Ways to Connect:

Digging Deep to Prepare for the Future

Count on us to support you as you delve into the complex questions that urgently need answers as you face a rapidly changing higher education environment. We will help you stay abreast of the transformations and pressures that will dramatically affect the higher education ecosystem in years to come and brainstorm how to respond to those challenges proactively. We’ll help you synthesize the best thought leadership to come up with your own best-practice solutions. We are your partners in identifying and preparing for potential disruptions. We’ll work collaboratively with you to prepare for the future that is arriving faster than anyone expected.

Pilot Project Planning and Administration 

You can count on us for effective program piloting. Our services include:

  • Funding major initiatives by BU departments, schools, and colleges to accelerate the University’s educational transformation through use of technology
  • Media production and instructional design support 
  • Agile project development and implementation
  • Consulting and funding for innovative experiments with the application of new technologies
  • Assistance in transitioning successful programs and projects to school or college administration
  • Guidance on identifying Beyond BU Funding Opportunities to support educational transformation pilots and research

Guiding Principles 

  • Collaboration: breaking through silos; inviting multiple perspectives; empathizing & building with each other
  • Human-Centered Design: we begin with questions and curiosity; we generate ideas and prototype solutions
  • Adaptability and Rapid, Continuous Improvement: we are committed to high standards of quality, fast pivots, capacity building, learning from failures, and transparent processes

In the past 8 years, we have supported:

  • 10 Emerging Learning Technologies
  • 8 Lifelong Learning Initiatives
  • 5 Mentoring & Advising Platforms
  • 4 Remote Learning & Engagement Efforts
  • 4 Project-based Learning Pilots
  • 3 Digital Infrastructure Projects
  • 24 BUx Courses, including MicroMasters Programs in Digital Product Management and Digital Leadership

Learn more about our current and completed projects.