The Research and Innovation Office at Fayetteville State University (FSU) manages a variety of initiatives that promote innovation, workforce training, and economic development in partnership with private companies and government agencies. 

Given the University’s physical proximity to Fort Bragg and Raleigh’s Research Triangle Park, FSU is in a prime location to partner with a variety of entities on high-tech projects. 

For example, right now the university is collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security’s Criminal Investigations and Network Analysis Center to develop artificial intelligence tools to track and combat human trafficking, and our Nanomaterials Research Group facility works with industry partners on synthesizing novel nanomaterials for energy-related applications, such as energy conversion and storage, as well as radiation detection.

Partnerships like these are thanks, in part, to our Research and Innovation Office’s commitment to identifying external partners who are well suited to collaborate on various projects. These external businesses and organizations benefit from gaining access to the University’s state-of-the-art facilities and our esteemed faculty, while faculty benefit from working with partners that can apply their research innovations to commercial, community, and government uses.

In addition, our students benefit from being a part of these research partnerships through the skills they learn by assisting their professors and the hands-on experience they gain from working with government organizations, national laboratories, and private businesses. Moreover, these partnerships help the University deepen connections with national and global entities that contribute expertise and real-world experience that enhances research and instruction at FSU.

Aside from research initiatives, The Research and Innovation Office operates workforce development projects that prepare students to excel in a range of positions, such as our Africa Urban Emergency Research Initiative (AUERI) partnership with RTI. AUERI is a USAID-funded project that seeks to bring needed development to sub-Saharan Africa.

FSU also is home to the Center for Enterprise Resource Planning and Advanced Analytics, which enables students and personnel to train in a SAP NextGen Lab and attain SAP certification in only four months. FSU is the first university in the Southeastern United States to host a SAP NextGen Lab.

A partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which selected FSU as one of its Path to Excellence and Innovation cohorts, allows FSU students to receive training and technical assistance that enable graduates to fill positions in the health sector. The Path to Excellence initiative also helps historically Black colleges and universities like FSU to secure more NIH contracts.

Most recently, FSU became the first historically Black university to host the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program, an initiative funded by the State of North Carolina with a goal of training more nurses to perform exams on victims of sexual assault.

As you can see, the variety of research and training programs at FSU help advance innovation and develop the future workforce. These partnerships also raise FSU’s profile throughout the country and world, helping to attract future students and industry collaborators.

Businesses who wish to partner with FSU on research initiatives can contact The Research and Innovation Office to discuss opportunities for collaboration and student internship programs. We can even consider customizing training and research programs to meet the needs of particular employers and industries. We look forward to your partnership in helping to train highly skilled, diverse graduates to meet the evolving needs of the workforce.