Prior Initiatives
The UCI Academic Initiative program seeks to unravel some of the world’s most challenging problems through cross-discipline collaboration.
A key component of the UCI strategic plan is to invest in growth that makes a difference. The Academic Initiatives program not only promotes interdisciplinary partnership, but also encourages research, educational programs, inclusive excellence, outreach and community engagement – all key elements in addressing the world’s grand challenges.
Below are prior Academic Initiatives.
Data Science Initiative
In an increasingly data-centric world, electronic information has become a critical element in modern research, education, medicine and business. The Data Science Initiative brought together faculty from almost every school to explore overlapping interests in the area of data science/big data, including methodology, infrastructure, theory, policy, and education.
End Family Violence
The mission of the Initiative to End Family Violence is to be the premier site for research, education, clinical care, and community collaboration on family violence prevention and intervention.
Exercise Medicine & Sport Sciences Initiative
This Initiative was established to promote scholarly activities and innovative discoveries in fields associated with movement, i.e. exercise medicine, sports science and rehabilitation and was dedicated to enhancing human health and wellness through teaching, basic and translational research, development of innovative technologies, service to the community, and clinical activities.
Medical Humanities Initiative
The Medical Humanities Initiative sought to advance a holistic understanding of the conditions and possibilities for health, healing, and well-being by uniting faculty from the School of Humanities, the School of Medicine, the School of Social Sciences and the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. Activities focused on promoting a healthcare model that was patient-centered, culturally sensitive, and responsive to community needs.
Microbiome
The Microbiome Initiative will promote multidisciplinary collaboration in the study and understanding of human and environmental microbiomes.
Oceans
Oceans are important for the Earth System but are vulnerable to human impacts such as climate change, overfishing, and pollution. Across campus, researchers at UCI are tackling pressing marine and on-shore environmental concerns and investigating questions at both global and local scales.
Salton Sea Initiative
The Salton Sea Initiative was part of the Water UCI and Sustainability Initiatives. This Initiative included a multidisciplinary group that built connections among communities concerned about the sustainability challenges facing the Salton Sea region.
Sustainability Initiative
The Sustainability Initiative provided a platform for interdisciplinary scholarship on the critical climate, environment, and resource issues confronting society. It promoted collaborations with diverse communities on and off campus in developing solutions to challenges affecting California and the globe.
Water UCI
The Water UCI Initiative helped to foster collaboration in the fields of fundamental and applied water science, technology, engineering, management and policy. The team concentrated on “grand challenges” – high-consequence, high-uncertainty problems that entail unprecedented mitigation costs, have the potential to generate social conflict, and may be approaching irreversibility