The VIP Consortium Annual Meeting
The hub for research, evaluation, and recruitment of VIP programs, the Annual Meeting assembles program directors, coordinators, and key stakeholders representing VIP institutions, from emerging programs to veteran sites. The Meeting is highly participatory and focused on peer-to-peer exchange, with presentations and interactive sessions focused on curricula, program assessment, supporting student outcomes, best practices, and Consortium sustainability.
Annual Meeting Components
INTERACTIVE SESSIONS
VIP Consortium invites abstracts for presentations and interactive sessions from all VIP sites, and presenters are encouraged to work with other sites to develop their content. Sessions that involve active participation are a hallmark of the Annual Meeting: this may involve breakout activities and discussions, collective working and problem solving, and interactive planning.
VIP SITE SPOTLIGHTS
Individual VIP site profiles and team spotlight presentations follow a traditional conference format. Presentations may focus on a site's operational learnings and achievements, or on the real-world research breakthroughs achieved by VIP teams.
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP
The first day of the Annual Meeting is set aside for a workshop focusing on early-stage and prospective VIP sites. The workshop provides resources and best practices for successfully launching and sustaining a new VIP site.
STUDENT PARTICIPATION
VIP Consortium invites institutions to bring students for a poster fair, enabling students to showcase their projects and engage with VIP students from other schools. A limited number of student accommodations (10 - 20 hotel rooms) are sponsored by the Consortium.
A SYMPOSIUM TO TRANSFORM HIGHER EDUCATION
The Annual Meeting is where VIP leaders gather to evaluate program efficacy and solve the systemic challenges presented by traditional higher education models. Site leads explore complex topics driving the VIP model’s positive impact and return to their respective institutions with best practices for program success. Session topics include:
Student Outcomes
- Influence of hands-on, collaborative learning on student experiences and skill development
- Monitoring persistence, graduation, and long-term outcomes
- Employability skills development: measuring intangibles; aligning college coursework with employer needs
Equity and Accessibility
- Addressing inequities in traditional learning models
- Representative participation at VIP sites
- Measuring team diversity, introducing social network diagrams, and monitoring engagement to ensure no student is isolated from a team
- Supporting equitable outcomes for underrepresented student populations by making the proven VIP model widely available
Curricula
- High-impact practices for experiential learning
- Student assessment and course credits; how credits count
- Integrating innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship into existing course sequences and learning curriculum
Program Integration and Sustainability
- Overcoming institutional resistance, securing buy-in, obtaining funding
- Keeping faculty program developers and VIP instructors engaged
- Defining long-term objectives for VIP and demonstrating impact
Program Enhancement and Collaboration
- Building regional hubs
- External partners: industry and community collaborations, agreements, intellectual property
- Strengthening student recruitment and retention
- Implementing standardized worldwide assessment to measure program outcomes
2024 Annual Meeting Details
MAY 8 - 10, GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
The deadline to register for the 2024 Annual Meeting has passed. Registration for the 2025 Annual Meeting will open in March 2025. For general questions, please contact Julie Sonnenberg-Klein: jsk@gatech.edu.
2023 Annual Meeting Session