The Office of Public Engagement invites faculty, staff, students and community partners to submit proposals for the Public Engagement Summit — "Publicly Engaged Solutions to 21st Century Societal Grand Challenges: Illinois Leadership and Innovation," held on April 17. This free, full-day event will highlight publicly engaged research, teaching and service partnerships addressing today’s most pressing societal challenges. Presentations include participatory action/use-inspired research, implementation and demonstration projects and service-learning courses. Learn more and submit proposals.

Nominate an outstanding student employee today! The Office of Student Financial Aid invites you to nominate an exceptional undergraduate student employee for the 2026 Student Employee of the Year Award. The campus winner will be submitted for regional and national consideration. The deadline for submission is Friday, March 6. This award recognizes students who have made significant contributions to the campus community. Nomination form and guidelines are available at the link above.

The University of Illinois System campuses (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois Springfield and University of Illinois Chicago) are partnering for an upcoming simulation symposium, set to take place at the UIS campus on Oct. 29. A formal Call for Proposals invites presenters to share innovative simulation-based projects, research, pedagogical tools or practice models. We welcome submissions from all disciplines that utilize simulation to enhance learning, promote equity, foster well-being and promote professional excellence. CFP.

Nominate an outstanding tutor today! The Office of Student Financial Aid invites you to nominate an exceptional undergraduate tutor for the 2026 Tutor of the Year Award. This award recognizes students who have made significant contributions to the U. of I. campus and community. The submission deadline to nominate a deserving tutor is Friday, March 6. 

The Counseling Center is proud to announce our recent accreditation from the International Accreditation of Counseling Services. To receive accreditation, the Counseling Center completed a rigorous peer review process. IACS confirms that the highest standards are being met, validates professional excellence and distinguishes standout counseling centers with its accreditation seal of approval. Thanks to our campus partners who met with accreditors during the site visit in October.

The Illini Science Policy Scholar serves as a regular, full time, 12-month academic professional and supports projects and initiatives that research, explore and inform policy that are central to both the mission of the University of Illinois Extension and the Scholar’s host agency. The position will work on providing solutions on issues such as agricultural equity, digital equity, disaster preparedness and economic equity throughout Illinois. This position provides job experience to a recent college graduate with a master's, doctorate or professional degree between 2023 to spring of 2026.

Faculty/instructors are invited to webinar series on Day1Access, the campus' Inclusive Access Course Materials Program. This initiative ensures students have affordable, digital course materials on the first day of class, leading to improved engagement and academic success. The submission deadline for fall 2026 classes is Feb. 28. Register below to explore how Day1Access can support your students with affordable, accessible and high‑quality digital course materials from the start of the semester. 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18 and 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19. 

The Kaplan All Access Program, which gives U. of I. students FREE access to test prep, ends Feb. 28. Students can enroll now for up to 12 months of access to admissions exams, career credentials and licensure exams as well as skills development and new-hire courses. Whether students are planning for graduate school or the workforce, encourage them to enroll before the program sunsets so they don’t miss out. Visit the Kaplan All Access page on our website for the full list of 40 courses and the enrollment portal.

A new ChatGPT Edu license is now available to U. of I. faculty and staff through the WebStore for $11 per month, billed annually. This university-licensed version of ChatGPT is powered by GPT-5 and can reason across text and vision and use advanced tools such as data analysis. This offering includes enterprise-level security and controls. Additional information is on the Enterprise Generative Artificial Intelligence website.

The call for proposals for the BRIDGE Seed Fund is open. The fund provides funding to advance Illinois’ research and engagement missions in collaboration with the University of Birmingham. Permanent faculty and research staff are eligible to apply. Proposals in the social sciences and humanities are strongly encouraged. Proposals must be submitted by March 13. Application information is available on the BRIDGEPartnership website.

"Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue" is an interactive course that teaches skills on how to effectively turn disagreement into dialogue. This course is appropriate for a range of roles, including those who provide customer service, manage conflict or supervise others. Find information about this 4-day, in-person training opportunity in the Crucial Conversations reservation form.

Bill Bernhard, executive vice provost for academic affairs, will lead a discussion on Demystifying Illinois: What Every Faculty Member Should Know. The session is designed to help assistant professors better understand how our campus operates behind the scenes. Why does change take so long? What does “decentralized” mean? Why can campuswide policies be so difficult to implement? How are salaries, raises and retentions decided? And how does the Urbana-Champaign campus relate to Illinois’ presence in Chicago and Springfield? You’ll gain practical insights into how things get done (or don’t).

Attention faculty, postdocs, staff and grad students - we need your help! We are seeking judges for the 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium, set for Thursday, April 30. As a judge, you'll be assigned a 90-minute slot (based on your availability) to evaluate a subset of student presentations. Sign up at: https://go.illinois.edu/URSJudge. Great university service opportunity to add to your CV!

University Housing dining hall lunch and dinner menus will include fish on Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent through Good Friday. Guests can buy a meal plan or use credit, debit or any remaining Illini Cash at the door.

The Career Center offers on-site career coaching drop-in services at seven campus partner locations throughout the academic year. Career coaches provide informal one-on-one conversations from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on select dates each month at AACC, BNAACC, GSRC, La Casa, Native American House, Salaam or WRC. Visit The Career Center website for on-site coaching dates at each location.

As farmers across the state face mounting economic pressures, University of Illinois Extension reminds agricultural producers, advisers and families that free help is available wherever you are. Assistance resources range from mental health vouchers and crisis support lines to comprehensive financial planning tools. Read the release for details and links. Contact: Emily Hansen or locate an Extension office near you.

Are you struggling to keep track of all your sources? Looking for an easier way to cite as you write? Mendeley is a free citation manager that helps you organize your citations, store and annotate your files and insert formatted citations into papers. You will leave this hands-on workshop with a Mendeley library set up and ready to use!

MAXQDA is a robust software for analyzing qualitative data, including text, media and survey data. The software is free for all U. of I. users via a license provided by Illinois Computes. This workshop does not assume any previous knowledge of MAXQDA. You may find it helpful to use the materials from the Planning Qualitative Data Analysis workshop to think about strategies relevant to your own research project.

Please join us for the University Archives' monthly Women in Science Lecture Series from noon to 1 p.m. Feb. 20. Bethany Anderson (natural and applied sciences archivist), Mary Ton (professor and digital humanities librarian) and Kristen Wilson (distributed museum coordinator) will discuss their work in making domestic science archival materials accessible and using artificial intelligence to help with OCR and Named Entity Recognition. Hear how this data will be used to share women scientists’ stories. Join in person at the University Archives, Main Library 146, or register for the Zoom link.

Sharing History with the Horse Nation: Historical narratives are often said to have been “written from the back of a horse,” yet scholarship rarely considers horses as meaningful historical actors. Lindsay Stallones Marshall, Ph.D., examines how centering Indigenous horse knowledge offers a powerful framework for understanding our shared past with greater clarity, depth and cultural accuracy. 

Please join Academic Women in STEAM for our monthly seminar series, Science Uncorked. Our next event will be 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, at The Literary in downtown Champaign. Our presenter will be Michelle Zhu, a graduate student in food science and human nutrition at the U. of I., who will present "What Happens to Carrots in the Body? Humans vs. Mice." All are welcome! Interested in presenting in the future? Contact a-wis@illinois.edu.

Dr. Paiva-Neto shares lessons from a decade advancing physical activity in Brazil’s Primary Health Care, showing how Implementation Science links evidence to community practice through shared leadership and local context. Now a Werner Baer Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, he highlights adaptive, equity-focused strategies that connect policy, science and lived experience to inspire sustainable health promotion. 

This month's GenAI Dialogues explores how students are experiencing, using and shaping artificial intelligence in their learning and daily lives. Hear from Illinois students in an engaging conversation that highlights real experiences and sparks dialogue about what AI means for students now and in the future.

Many international scholars hope to secure full-time employment in the United States. In this presentation, you will learn about the H-1B petition process for full-time hires and options for permanent residence in the U.S. The speaker will be Thomas Arkell, an attorney practicing immigration and employment law. This workshop is intended for anyone interested in better understanding U.S. immigration policy as it pertains to advanced degree holders.

Join us for a special guided tour exploring our university’s connection to the fascinating artifacts at the Spurlock Museum. Discover how the ancient — and not so ancient — world is reflected across campus in ways you may not have noticed. We’ll discuss the origins of the land, the Alma Mater’s ties to Ancient Greece, cultural houses’ contributions to the museum, the U. of I. Ambulance Unit in World War I and more. Bring your Illini spirit and uncover the ancient influences woven into our campus story!

Join us for this special guided tour: Percussion instruments, especially drums, have been an almost ubiquitous part of the human experience, from war snares to the heart of a powwow to street buckets and a modern trap kit. Looking at the different percussion instruments we have on display at the museum, we can compare and contrast their cultural uses and importance to inform the place of percussion in the greater global culture.

NCSA, in collaboration with the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center, invites you to the next Quantum User Group's Bring Your Own Lunch and Learn on Thursday, Feb. 26. This month, Abhijeet Ghoshal, a professor in the Department of Business Administration, will discuss “Quantum Algorithms Based Heuristics for Hiding Sensitive Itemsets: Domain-Inspired Warm Start.”

A Conversation with Hope Boykin. Join internationally celebrated choreographer Hope Boykin - two-time Bessie Award winner and former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater member - for an inspiring discussion about artistry, storytelling and creation. Hope will share insights into her work with DAI students performing "The Other Side," her powerful adaptation of Jaqueline Woodson's beloved book. From stages around the world to mentoring the next generation of artists, Boykin's voice, vision and impact continue to shape the future of dance. 1p.m. Friday, Feb. 20 | Stage 5. Free and open to all!

Career Expo, Feb. 16–26, features 18 in-person and virtual events designed to help students build momentum leading up to the campuswide Hire Illini Career and Internship Fair on Feb. 26. Sessions help students explore careers, build skills and gain the confidence to walk into the fair ready to discover opportunities and make meaningful connections. Visit Handshake for the full list of events, including dates, times and locations.

The College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign cordially invites you to attend a celebration and reception to honor Rochelle Gutiérrez, professor of curriculum and instruction, for being elected to the National Academy of Education.

Saturday Engineering for Everyone is an open, free lecture series for people of all backgrounds interested in engineering. Ashlynn Stillwell, professor and the Elaine F. and William J. Hall Excellence Faculty Scholar in Civil and Environmental Engineering, will discuss how engineering can make life at home more sustainable and healthier. Our everyday activities affect how we use resources like water and energy. A combination of housing characteristics, infrastructure and human behaviors determines residential water and energy use. All ages are welcome!

Join us at Riggs Beer Company at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, to hear Claire Murphy from the Slauch lab discuss the science behind sourdough. Sourdough starter samples will be available for those interested.  Hope to see you there!  Presented by the MCB GSA.

In this session, new podcasters learn how to create an intentional, personalized brand to really make their show their own. We cover promoting and marketing podcasts through social media and other ways to get word out!

Experience campus life, learn a new language and earn two college credits! The Arabic High School Program will take place from June 14 to June 27. During these fully immersive two weeks, students will learn foundational reading, writing and speaking skills in the Arabic language through four hours of daily classroom instruction followed by fun co-curricular activities! Participants will meet college students, local Arabic community members and live in a residence hall on campus! Students will earn two college credits as well as a sense of what to expect after graduating high school!

The SKY Happiness Retreat is an internationally acclaimed life-skills program that helps participants develop a relaxed, stress-free mind and an energetic, healthy body. The retreat teaches evidence-based meditation, yoga, breathwork and self-exploration in a fun and an experiential format. Join us on campus for a detox-weekend! Fully funded for all U. of I. students. Apply here.

Join University Housing for our Mardi Gras celebration on Tuesday, Feb. 17! All dining halls will have a special dinner menu, including beignets and king cakes (caution – there’s a baby inside!). Guests can buy a meal plan or use credit, debit or any remaining Illini Cash at the door. We’ll also host our annual Gumbo Cook-Off in the SDRP lobby from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., in collaboration with the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center. Chefs from all dining halls will compete. Stop by, taste all the varieties of gumbo and vote for your favorite!

Our partners in Peru will speak about current research on Andean cultural heritage and the ongoing collaborations with Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and Krannert Art Museum on the Fragmented Histories: Andean Art Before 1600 exhibition project. Presented in person and via Zoom. En español e inglés.

Join us for a special evening at Krannert Art Museum in partnership with Uniting Pride Center of Champaign County. This event celebrates queer art and artists with a mix of engaging experiences, including live music, guided tours, hands-on artmaking, artist demonstrations and hors d’oeuvres. Free and open to everyone. We look forward to welcoming you! *Parking nearby is free after 5 p.m. and on weekends.* 

Enjoy live music in the galleries and a reception to celebrate Imagination, Faith and Desire: Early European Prints from 1475–1800 (on view through Feb. 28). The evening will include brief remarks by curator of European and American Art Maureen Warren. Harpsichordist Charlotte Mattax Moersch and the Urbana Baroque ensemble will perform on period instruments. *Parking nearby is free after 5 p.m. and on weekends.*

Join the Department of Latina/Latino Studies for the spring semester installment of the Latina/Latino Studies Speaker Series with Marla A. Ramírez, a professor of history and Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ramírez will discuss her recent book "Banished Citizens: A History of the Mexican American Women Who Endured Repatriation" (Harvard University Press, 2025). 

Spurlock Museum is proud to partner with The Literary to present this new community program. Free books will be provided to the first 13 people that sign up for participation. Stop by the museum anytime during open hours to sign up and pick up your free book. Then join the group at The Literary in downtown Champaign on the designated discussion day: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18 - "An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz.

Join museum studies student Nicole Kim to celebrate lunar new year by playing traditional Korean games such as Dakkji, Yut Nori and so much more.

This presentation analyzes the impact of women in local government leadership in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using novel municipal-level data and a Regression Discontinuity Design, it examines how female mayors shaped crisis responses across policy decisions, implementation and health spending. Despite lower compliance with social isolation in women-led municipalities, findings show differences in virus spread, mortality and policy outcomes, contributing to global debates on gender and crisis governance.

This lecture explores how riverside communities along Brazil’s São Francisco River use storytelling, music and embodied performance to navigate ecological and social change. Drawing on long-term ethnographic research, it centers on the "poética do remanso," a backwater poetics shaping language, gesture and performance in Ponto Chique. Focusing on storyteller and batuqueiro Olímpio Gonçalves, it shows how floods and batuque transform memory into a living archive, linking ancestral knowledge to present struggles and offering Afro-Indigenous ecological ways of knowing the river.

Water treatment faces major barriers, including low energy efficiency and limited removal of persistent micropollutants, such as PFAS. Despite Brazil’s abundant freshwater, uneven distribution and limited regulation make water quality a growing challenge. This research develops advanced polymer-based materials with tunable adsorption and desorption to sustainably remove PFAS from contaminated water. Yuri Giovane Kappenberg, a Werner Baer Postdoctoral Fellow at the U. of I., leads with his background in organic chemistry and redox polymer design to advance water purification technologies.

Dr. Paiva-Neto shares insights from over a decade of strengthening physical activity promotion within Brazil’s Primary Health Care system. Drawing on collaborative work with community health workers, multidisciplinary teams and local managers, his talk shows how Implementation Science can bridge the gap between evidence and everyday practice. He highlights shared leadership, context-aware strategies and health equity as keys to sustainable, community-driven health promotion, with lessons that extend beyond Brazil to global public health systems.

National statistical systems in Latin America and the Caribbean often struggle to implement international data governance initiatives despite strong technical capacity. Focusing on Brazil’s IBGE as a case study, this research uses Socio-Technical Interaction Networks analysis and draws on collaborative work with the UN ECLAC Statistics Division. It examines how international standards interact with national sociotechnical contexts, identifying key implementation gaps and successes. The study lays groundwork for a context-responsive data governance framework that meets countries where they are.

This study examines the expansion of affirmative action in Brazilian federal and state universities, focusing on historically excluded Black (pretos) and brown (pardos) students. Drawing on public data, surveys and interviews, it shows that implementation has been gradual yet lasting, contributing to demographic shifts in graduate education. By early 2025, 81% of federal and 67% of state universities had adopted unified affirmative action policies. Findings highlight growing emphasis on sustainability and transparency, signaling a more mature phase of policy implementation.

NCSA and the Center for AstroPhysical Surveys will host Salman Habib, a division director and Argonne Distinguished Fellow at Argonne National Laboratory, at 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, as part of the NCSA Colloquium Series. Salman will present a talk titled, “Supercomputing at the Crossroads.”

University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Farm Bureau are partnering on a new series to help farmers and landowners build, sustain and share their farm’s legacy. Focus on the Future topics include succession planning, asset stewardship, Farm Bill and market conditions. CPDUs and CEUs are available, as well as a hybrid online option, for each event date. Register at go.illinois.edu/FarmLegacy. Contact: Travis Burke.

Composer, pianist and visual artist José-Luis Hurtado visits campus for a 3-day residency. The 2026 Rohlen Visiting Artist will present several public events: a roundtable career Q&A session (11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, in the Music Building, Room 0359), a presentation for the Composers Forum (4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, in the Music Building, Room 0359), a recital/presentation of his work (7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, in Smith Recital Hall) and a performance of his work "The Untitled L" as part of the Illinois Modern Ensemble concert (7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18, in the Colwell Playhouse of KCPA).

Are you ready to enhance your intercultural skills? Join us for "Exploring Intercultural Communication Styles," an interactive training session designed to help participants navigate various intercultural communication skills. This session explores key communication styles, including direct vs. indirect, linear vs. nonlinear, affective vs. neutral and more. Participants will learn how adapting to different communication approaches can lead to more effective interactions. This training is open to faculty, staff and international scholars. Registration is required!

Learn to make a quilt on the go without a sewing machine at Quilting 101: Paper Piecing from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 1. Instructor Billie Theide will walk students through the versatile process of English Paper Piecing that can be used to make a wide range or projects like quilts, bags and contemporary artwork. Learn more and register here.

Learn about a traditional British Isle form of knitting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, at Allerton. Fair Isle Knitting uses only two colors per row, worked in the round to make geometric patterns. Instructor Charlie Rainbow Wolf will help students learn how to read a pattern graph to knit with two different colors to create those patterns. Learn more and register here.

Become an important part of Allerton by volunteering! Allerton’s generous volunteers help serve visitors, preserve the natural areas and improve the spectacular park for future generations. Learn more at our New Volunteer Orientation on from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21. Learn more and register here.

Young shade trees face a variety of challenges in the landscape, which can lead to low survival rates. Extension educator Ryan Pankau will help students learn how proper pruning early on can set trees up for a lifetime of healthy canopy structure. This in-depth workshop on from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 23 will include both lecture materials and hands-on pruning examples. Learn more and register here.

The film will be screened just after 5 p.m. Central Time at the Illini Union, Room 314AB (1401 W. Green St. Urbana). Immediately followed by a Q&A with director Lois Lipman (in-person) and protagonist/co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium Tina Cordova will join us via Zoom.

Join us for an Introduction to the LGBTQ+ community. In this training we will cover: LGBTQ+ identities, the gender spectrum and transgender identities, gender pronouns and intersectionality. All participants must RSVP prior to attending gsrc.illinois.edu/programs/ally.

Join us in becoming an ally. In this training, we will cover: homophobia and transphobia, privilege, discrimination and other issues in the U.S., Common LGBTQ+ student challenges, U. of I. policies and reporting, interrupting bias, a case studies activity and creating an action plan to create change in areas of your life to further inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community. Please note you MUST take LGBTQ+ Ally Training 101 BEFORE LGBTQ+ Ally Training 102. LGBTQ+ 101 builds on knowledge you need for LGBTQ+ 102. All participants must RSVP prior the workshop at gsrc.illinois.edu/programs/ally.

This talk presented by Michael Hua introduces Helion Energy, a private fusion company, to provide an overview of scale, presents Helion’s involvement in regulatory efforts and discusses the role of nonproliferation authorities to address hypothetical proliferation risks associated with fusion.

Join Ali Butt of the University of California Pavement Research Center as he presents via Zoom at the spring 2026 Kent Seminar Series from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19. Presentations this semester focus on topics related to innovation trends in aviation. Butt's lecture will explore life cycle impacts of airfield pavements using the FAA's new life cycle assessment tool, FAALCAn. Food and soft drinks will be provided beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the Illinois Center for Transportation Classroom.

Join the East Central Illinois Master Naturalists and Michael Aiuvalasit to explore the deep-time relationships between people, plants and prairies. Drawing on evidence from ancient seeds, soils and charcoal, we reveal how human ingenuity and ecological knowledge transformed Illinois landscapes, and how this knowledge may transform communities today. More information and registration in the title link.

Join us from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. TODAY, Feb. 15, at the Illini Union (Ballrooms B and C) to celebrate Brazilian Carnaval with music and dance. This free event is open to the general public. This RSO event is sponsored by the Luso-Brazilian Student Association, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies and the Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies. Funded by SORF.

Join us for a hybrid talk titled, “Tales of Asian Boys’ Love: Translanguaging and Transmediality of Romance in Selected Japanese, Thai and Filipino Series” with Cheeno Marlo M. Sayuno (postdoctoral research associate in the School of Information Sciences and a professor at University of the Philippines Los Baños). Register here.

Beckman Microscopy Suite Tech Talks presents: Analysis of Parachute Microstructural Strains in 3D with Micro-Computed Tomography and Image Segmentation. Please join us at noon Tuesday, Feb. 17, in Room 3269, Beckman’s 3rd floor tower room. Lunch will be provided to those who register for in-person attendance. Please register by noon Feb. 13. Register here!

Around the turn of the 20th century, a group of Yiddish-speaking educators, authors and cultural leaders undertook a bold project: creating a corpus of nearly one thousand books and several periodicals, which flourished in conjunction with the secular Yiddish school systems that spanned the globe in the 1920s and 30s. Investigated as an archive, the corpus furnishes a novel record of the movements that made Ashkenazi Jewry fully modern.

The Counseling Center is hosting multiple events for students to learn more about safer substance use as they approach Unofficial St. Patrick's Day and spring break. Interested students can stop by, take a brief assessment and talk to a trained peer educator about strategies customized to their personal habits. There will also be prizes, games and t-shirts! Visit our website for dates, times and locations! 

Launching or revising an online program involves multiple layers of campus and off campus approvals. In this session, Brooke Newell will guide you through the process, from planning through final notice of approval. Mary Lowry will focus on parts of the process that are different for graduate programs. You’ll leave knowing what resources are available to help you prepare your proposal application.

Are you having trouble organizing all your sources but don’t know where to start? This hands-on workshop will introduce you to three popular citation managers — Mendeley, Zotero and Endnote. We will go over pros and cons of each one and give you a preview of how they work to help you choose the best fit for your citation needs.

Learn the basics of MAXQDA. MAXQDA is a robust software for analyzing qualitative data, including text, media and survey data. You may find it helpful to use the materials from the Planning Qualitative Data Analysis workshop to think about strategies relevant to your own research project.

In this workshop, you will learn the basics of Illinois REDCap and how it can be used for the collection of research data, including how to create projects, instruments and surveys and how to start collecting research data. It is recommended (but not required) that you have a REDCap account prior to attending the workshop. Information about accessing Illinois REDCap is available here: https://healthinstitute.illinois.edu/research-support/redcap. No prior REDCap experience is necessary.

New to the university? Need a refresher on using the library? This hands-on workshop will introduce you to library resources and services. After this workshop, you’ll be able to navigate the library website with confidence to access print and electronic materials. Come with questions if you have them!

Master Course in Online Teaching is a deep dive into online teaching strategies that goes beyond earlier summer teaching institutes. Prior participation in an instructional development series is not required but professional experience with university-level instruction is strongly encouraged. MCOT includes a Canvas Course with four Zoom sessions scheduled on Wednesdays from 11:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. beginning on Wednesday, March 25. Certificates will be presented to those who complete all course requirements. Register here.

Spring Into Artificial Intelligence at CITL!  For the third straight semester, CITL is hosting a series of Generative AI-focused events composed of lectures, presentations, panels, guest speakers, student voices and workshops. This series features a large variety of topics and opinions for audience engagement. For a list of events, visit the Gen AI at CITL. All Spring into AI workshops can be applied toward CITL's AI Fluency Certificate!

The Illinois Computes Program is offering a 2-hour session that will introduce interactive Jupyter notebooks, particularly the web-hosted version provided by Illinois Computes Research Notebooks service. We will discuss the benefits that Jupyter can bring to research workflows, how to use Jupyter locally, in a cloud or on ICRN, and specifics about using the ICRN service.  We will also discuss basic Python programming, including packages like NumPy, SciPy, Pandas and Matplotlib. We will go over one or two hands-on examples and how you use them with Jupyter.

Attend a session on reviewing Report of Non-University Activities disclosures. This training will give you a refresh on how to conduct the review of RNUA disclosures and help you identify and manage potential conflicts of commitment and interest. Register to join a RNUA review session at 10 a.m. March 3, or 2 p.m. March 4. These sessions are open to department heads, directors, plan monitors and assistants that support RNUA review. Register at ORS Events page.

This mid-year training will focus on when you should update your outside activities disclosures on the Report of Non-University Activities. Refresh your understanding of which outside activities need to be disclosed, when prior approval is required, when an outside activity may be a potential conflict of commitment or interest and how to work with your unit and COI administrators to manage conflicts. Register to join a session at 2 p.m. March 2, or 10 a.m. March 5. These sessions are open to individuals covered by the COCI Policy. Register at ORS Events page.

The next Online Student Service Watercooler Group meeting is at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, via Zoom. This month, we will be discussing Graduate Student Appreciation Week.

In this 2-hour, beginner-friendly session, participants move through reflective and creative exercises that introduce the SHIFT mindset. You’ll identify a challenge in your current teaching or curriculum, explore learner perspectives using simple tools, prototype a small shift, and leave with one actionable idea you can bring back to your classroom.

Learn where to start with cover crops from farmers already growing them. University of Illinois Extension is offering farmers, producers, landowners and industry professionals a chance to log on for a free virtual panel all about cover crops in today’s agricultural landscape. The panel discussion includes three farmers from northwest, west central and southern Illinois who already utilize cover crops in their operations to answer questions and build discussion. Register to join.

Join four Quick Start Workshops this week (Feb. 17, 18 and 20) to learn how to make your digital materials accessible. This week, we’re talking about PowerPoint, Word, using the FACT Moodle accessibility checker and more! Additional workshops on document and course accessibility are scheduled throughout the rest of the semester. Sign up and expand your accessibility skills.

We are conducting a research study to understand the perceptions and factors that influence resistance training across the lifespan among Latino men (18 years or older) and women (35 years or older). This study will consist of you filling out a few surveys and completing a one-time online interview. As a result of participating, you will receive an Amazon gift card. If you're interested please fill out our interest form here! If you have any questions, please reach out to aguinagalab@gmail.com! 

The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, in collaboration with the (dis)Ability Design Studio and Disability Resources and Educational Services, is looking for students to share their stories about accessibility on this campus and how they are rising above perceived limitations. The series is designed to highlight lived experiences about adjusting to and overcoming barriers. We welcome stories about well-being, belonging, learning and innovating. Stories will be shared on multiple websites and may be compiled into a future documentary. Submit this brief info form.

The Family Resiliency Center is looking for volunteers (18 years and older) to help with a research study aimed at improving how we measure biomarkers in saliva. Your participation only takes about 20 minutes, and you will just need to provide a saliva sample and answer a short survey. You can do it from home, work, community setting or in our lab, whichever works best for you. Why does your spit matter? Because you can help us validate a handheld device that could make health monitoring more accessible and efficient for everyone. To participate, simply email spit-device-study@illinois.edu.

Seeking participants (18 years old or above) for a research study about how citizen scientists can help make historical scientific literature machine-readable for more accessible science. The research will be conducted in-person on the U. of I. campus and online. The study experience takes about 30 minutes and compensation is a $20 Amazon gift card upon the completion of your participation. To participate, please fill out the interest form here: https://go.illinois.edu/rtm-signup.

Are you a current online student at U. of I.? You are invited to participate in a study that aims to learn how online students define student success, and what factors can contribute to or hinder that success. Selected participants will complete an one hour interview with the researchers, and receive a $40 Amazon gift card for their time. This study caps at 30 participants. If interested, complete the pre-screening form by March 2 to be considered for selection: https://surveys.illinois.edu/sec/655811584.

The Infant Cognition Lab is conducting a brief, one-time, in-person study on young infants’ ability to understand that agents can hold false beliefs about objects. Infants sit on their parent's lap and watch a live show while their looking times are measured. Parking is provided. In thanks, choose $15 in cash or a child’s gift. If interested, email infantlab@illinois.edu or call 217-333-5988.

The Nutrition and Exercise Performance Research Group is recruiting recreationally active adults (19–40 years old) to participate in a 2-day study examining how food combinations affect muscle protein synthesis and whole-body protein utilization. Participation includes four free meals, resistance exercise, muscle biopsies and blood, breath and urine sampling across two lab visits. Participants who complete the study will receive $300 and information on body composition and caloric needs. Interested individuals may contact Calvin at (cw148@illinois.edu)to learn more and see if you qualify!

The Nutrition and Exercise Performance Research Group is looking for participants to partake in a 2-day study to establish the utility of the indicator amino acid oxidation method in adults. Participation in this study involves 2-day habituation lead in with all meals provided, muscle biopsies and blood, breath and urine sampling during two all-day trials. Upon completion, you will receive $150 and information about your body composition and caloric needs. Contact our lab (NEPRESEARCH@illinois.edu) for more information! Male participants are strongly encouraged!

Healthy adults ages 18-40 with no hearing loss but significant difficulty hearing in noise are invited for a study on listening in noise. There is an online survey to determine eligibility followed by lab visits for those who qualify. Lab visits include hearing screening, listening to sounds and measuring ear and brain activity. There is a maximum of three lab visits, each lasting 2-3 hours. Compensation for lab visits is paid in cash ($15 per hour). Parking is covered, and mileage is reimbursed ($0.655 per mile, up to a maximum of 37.5 miles per visit). To participate, complete our survey.