Welcome and Workshop Goals

• Stacie Granum (SDSTA/The Institute)
• Nicol Reiner (SDSTA/SURF)
• Jaret Heise (SDSTA/SURF)

**Theme:** Collaborative Capacity Building **Workshop Purpose:** Strengthen collaboration across South Dakota’s higher education ecosystem to advance shared priorities, expand funding opportunities, and drive actionable outcomes.

Breaking Down Silos: Who's Doing What? + Idea Pitches.

• Stacie Granum (SDSTA/The Institute)

**Breaking Down the Silos** Each institution or organization present, share the following information. (up to 3 slides allowed) **Who's Doing What? and A Short Pitch.** 📌Who you are, including who's in attendance 📌Highlight expertise, research interests, initiatives and resources across institutions 📌Identify areas of complementary expertise and potential collaboration 📌Short concept pitches from participants (include research ideas, emerging initiatives and collaboration needs and who you are interested in collaborating with, if applicable).

Breaking Down Silos: Who's Doing What? + Idea Pitches.

• Stacie Granum (SDSTA/The Institute)

**Breaking Down the Silos** Each institution or organization present, share the following information. (up to 3 slides allowed) **Who's Doing What? and A Short Pitch.** 📌Who you are, including who's in attendance 📌Highlight expertise, research interests, initiatives and resources across institutions 📌Identify areas of complementary expertise and potential collaboration 📌Short concept pitches from participants (include research ideas, emerging initiatives and collaboration needs and who you are interested in collaborating with, if applicable).

Reflect on Day 1

From Institutional Strengths to Statewide Capacity: A Vision for SD Higher Education

• Patrick Weber (SD Board of Regents and Governor's Office of Economic Development)

**Building South Dakota’s Capacity Through Higher Education Collaboration** How can higher education institutions and partners work collectively to strengthen research, education and workforce capacity? How can those collective capabilities translate into talent development, innovation, industry partnerships and economic growth?

Funded Projects (Progress, Success, Challenges)

• Nicol Reiner (SDSTA/SURF)

**Funded Projects:** Progress, Success, Challenges 📌Federal Programs 📌HECW Incubator Projects **Better understand:** •Federal and statewide funding landscape •EPSCoR and other collaborative opportunities •Building stronger multi-institution proposals •Grant development, support and shared resources

From Classroom to Career: Building South Dakota's STEM Talent Pipeline (panel)

• Ben Sayler (Black Hills State University)
• Ashley Podhradsky (Dakota State University)
• Katie Pedneau (Black Hills State University)

**Panel Discussion** **From Classroom to Career: Building South Dakota's STEM Talent Pipeline** A facilitated conversation exploring how K–12 education, higher education, employers, and STEM organizations can work together to strengthen student pathways, prepare students for emerging workforce needs, and retain more STEM talent in South Dakota. **Higher Education Perspective:** **(Speaker: Ashley Podhradsky)** How should South Dakota's higher-education institutions evolve to prepare students for STEM careers that are changing rapidly? Address the university's role in creating a talent pipeline—not simply educating students but connecting education → research → experiential learning → industry → careers. **K-12/Student Pathways Perspective:** **(Speaker: Ben Sayler)** How do we get more young South Dakotans to see themselves in STEM, particularly students in rural and underserved communities, and create pathways that carry that interest from K–12 into college and careers? Building early STEM interest, supporting educators, reaching rural students and creating K–12-to-college STEM pathways. **Employer Perspective:** **(Speaker: TBD)** What employers actually need, and what they need education to do differently. What does an engineering and technology employer need from graduates, and how can employers become more involved in developing that talent before students graduate? **Student Perspective:** **(Speaker: Katie Pedneau)** The Student Experience: Navigating the STEM Pathway. What does that pathway actually look like from the student’s perspective? What experiences make the biggest difference, and what barriers or gaps make it harder to navigate? How did you become interested in STEM? Who or what opened doors for you? How did you find internships, research or other experiential opportunities? What has helped you understand possible careers? What do you wish you had known earlier? What could universities, employers and K–12 educators do differently?

AI Across Education: Navigating Opportunity, Responsibility and Change.

• Rajesh Kavasseri (South Dakota State University)
• Kevin Smith (Dakota State University)
• Victor Taylor (South Dakota State University)

**AI Across Education: Navigating Opportunity, Responsibility and Change.** What could South Dakota's K–12 and higher education communities do together to prepare students for an AI-enabled future? 📌**Higher Education Perspective:** (Speaker: Victor Taylor and Rajesh Kavasseri, Center for AI Innovation and Emergent Technologies, SDSU) **AI in Research** — How is AI changing how faculty conduct research, analyze information, collaborate and generate new ideas? What opportunities and concerns should researchers be thinking about? **AI in Teaching & Learning** — How should faculty respond when students already have these tools? How can AI enhance learning without replacing critical thinking? How does assessment need to change? **Responsible & Effective Use** — What guardrails are needed around accuracy, academic integrity, privacy, intellectual property and transparency? And how do institutions create enough flexibility to innovate while still using AI responsibly? 📌**K-12 Perspective:** (Speaker: Kevin Smith, DSU) **How do we prepare K–12 students to use AI thoughtfully, responsibly and effectively**—and ensure they arrive at college prepared for an environment where AI is already part of learning, research and work? **AI Literacy & Student Readiness** — What should students understand about AI before they graduate from high school? How do we teach students to question outputs, recognize limitations and bias, verify information, and use AI as a tool rather than a substitute for thinking? **Teaching & Learning in K–12** — How are teachers incorporating AI into classrooms? What does effective use look like at different grade levels? How do educators balance access to these tools with developing foundational skills, creativity and critical thinking? **Equity, Access & Teacher Preparedness** — Are all South Dakota students getting similar opportunities to learn about and use AI? What challenges are particularly relevant for rural schools? What training and support do teachers need to prepare students for an AI-enabled future?

Building the Infrastructure for Continued Collaboration

• Breakout Groups

Room: Education & Outreach Large Conference Room **Break out groups continue discussion from previous day. Participants move from discussion to development around priority areas.**

From Ideas to Initiatives

• Breakout Groups

Room: Education & Outreach Large Conference Room **Working groups report out - share concepts and recommendations** - Identify opportunities with the greatest potential for continued collaboration **Discuss as a group following report outs**

Action Planning

• Jaret Heise (SDSTA/SURF)
• Nicol Reiner (SDSTA/SURF)
• Stacie Granum (SDSTA/The Institute)

Room: Education & Outreach Large Conference Room - Establish working groups and leads that will stay connected throughout the year - Define immediate next steps - schedule first meeting - Determine follow-up structure and timeline

Workshop Takeaways, 2027 Priorities, Commitments and Feedback

• Stacie Granum (SDSTA/The Institute)

Room: Education & Outreach Large Conference Room - Key Takeaways - 2027 Priorities - Commitments & Next Steps - Feedback - Complete Survey

SURF Underground Tour of Davis Campus (lunch provided) The initial part of the tour will consist of a detailed walkthrough of the Davis Campus which will include the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment. Participants will have a chance to see firsthand the leading experiment in dark matter research.

SURF Underground Tour of Ross Campus The tour will conclude with a trip to the Ross Campus, including a visit to the Black Hills State Underground Campus (BHUC), which serves as SURF's low-background counting facility, assaying materials for extremely sensitive experiments, and the Compact Accelerator System for Performing Astrophysical Research (CASPAR) experiment, a low-energy accelerator to better understand how elements are produced in the Universe. Participants will also be able to view the expansion drift, offering a glimpse into what an area looks like underground before being utilized for cutting edge science.