Cyberinfrastructure
AIHEC’s Cyberinfrastructure (CI) work supports Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) in strengthening technology capacity, digital infrastructure, and access to emerging research and education resources. Since 2017, the team has worked to advance culturally grounded cyberinfrastructure initiatives that support student success, STEM education, workforce development, Native language and cultural revitalization, and Tribal data sovereignty.
Through strategic planning, technical assistance, professional development, and collaboration, the AIHEC CI Team works alongside TCU leaders, faculty, IT professionals, students, and partners to help institutions build technology systems and resources that reflect their own missions, priorities, and community needs.
Key Initiatives
TCU CI Communities & Working Groups
AIHEC hosts communities of practice and working groups that bring together TCU faculty, staff, and technology leaders to collaborate on emerging cyberinfrastructure topics impacting Tribal Colleges and Universities.
Current Working Groups Include
- IT Directors/CIOs Community of Practice
- Artificial Intelligence & Data Sovereignty Working Group
- Esports Working Group
- Drone & GIS Technology Working Group
These communities support peer learning, collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and increased understanding of cyberinfrastructure issues impacting the TCU community.
IT Strategic Planning
AIHEC works with TCUs to strengthen campus technology infrastructure through IT strategic planning initiatives. Participating TCUs receive support in assessing current campus infrastructure, identifying priorities, and developing long-term cyberinfrastructure plans aligned with institutional goals.
Support areas may include campus assessments, strategic recommendations, policy development, and implementation planning.
Cybersecurity Support
AIHEC supports TCUs in strengthening campus cybersecurity practices through assessments, technical guidance, policy development, and resource-sharing. The initiative helps campuses identify vulnerabilities, improve cybersecurity readiness, and promote more secure digital environments for students, faculty, and staff.
Support may include cybersecurity assessments, policy development, curriculum development, and cross-TCU collaboration or course sharing.
CI Funding & Partnerships
AIHEC helps TCUs identify and pursue cyberinfrastructure funding opportunities while building collaborative relationships with regional and national research, education, and technology partners.
The initiative provides proposal development support, funding guidance, collaboration opportunities, and access to national cyberinfrastructure networks and resources.
Current partners and collaborators include Internet2, The Quilt, Project Quipu, the National Science Foundation, and other national cyberinfrastructure organizations.
TCU CI Workshops
AIHEC hosts Cyberinfrastructure Workshops that provide opportunities for TCUs to share knowledge, explore emerging technologies, and engage with trusted partners and national experts.
Workshop topics may include campus cyberinfrastructure advancements, cybersecurity challenges, workforce development, funding opportunities, and technology solutions that support TCU research and academic programs.
Cyber Teams
Through the Cyber Teams initiative, selected TCUs receive a two-year customized support program and a $100,000 subaward to strengthen campus cyberinfrastructure capacity and STEM research support.
Participating campuses may receive support in:
- Strategic planning and policy development
- Cybersecurity guidance
- Proposal development
- Research technology support
- Workforce and professional development
- Campus cyberinfrastructure assessments
The initiative also supports campus research activities in areas such as Native language preservation, climate science, GIS, and data storage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cyberinfrastructure?
Cyberinfrastructure encompasses all the social and technical information technology (IT) resources necessary to connect laboratories, data, hardware, and people that support academic research and education at the TCUs. The AIHEC CI Team’s ongoing experiences and interactions with TCU faculty, staff, and students are the catalyst for additional TCU cyberinfrastructure-based activities.
What are the current CI team facilitation focus areas?
Current focus areas include: drones and uncrewed aerial vehicles, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and computer science, and geographic information systems (GIS), and esports. These areas leverage research and education activities of interest to multiple TCUs, have growing cyberinfrastructure requirements, and are expandable to both other discipline areas as well as to other campuses.
What are the general challenges of the TCU CI Community?
Access to monetary resources, governance frameworks, and a broader human network, the ability to train and retain a technical staff, and facilitation of a comprehensive understanding of programmatic cyberinfrastructure requirements.
What funding sources does the CI team leverage?
The CI team leverages National Science Foundation (NSF) funding, including the TCU CI Study (NSF 1655185), North Dakota Cyber Team (NSF 2018975), CC* CIRA TCU CI Strategies (NSF 2018979), TCU Cybersecurity (NSF 2226083), and TCU CI Facilitation (NSF 2334701) to further the TCUs’ advancement and adoption of campus cyberinfrastructure.
Have questions about this program?
Contact us at info@aihec.org