Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (i4)

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Meeting the 4th Industrial Revolution Head-On

The mission of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (i4) is to build capacity in interdisciplinary sciences, informatics and emerging technologies as we increase students’ readiness for the 4th Industrial Revolution. 

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Institute for Interdisciplinary Science graphic (i4)

The institute is an educational and professional framework that fosters cross-sector partnerships and interdisciplinary collaborations. To this end, the Institute:

  • Organizes cross-sector cooperative agreements with public and private entities around the Austin, Texas, area and beyond.
  • Exposes STEM majors to the postgraduate landscape by networking them with employers and graduate programs through guaranteed paid internships.
  • Funds faculty professional development by offering awards to faculty for applying for large and small external grants.
  • Catalyzes faculty advancement, interdisciplinary collaborations, and innovative research through the presentation of research opportunity awards.

Together, these activities prepare students for the 4th Industrial Revolution, which is a recently embarked era where biological, digital and physical systems coalesce to connect people, objects and disciplines. 

The consensus among world leaders and prominent academics is that interdisciplinary education, industry-academia cross-talks, data science and informatics, and the development of adaptive STEM graduates who can innovate in a climate of change are pivotal for success in the 4th Industrial Revolution. 

i4 Latest News

16 Students Awarded Internships

Congratulations to our 16 NSCI students who were awarded an i4 internship opportunity at 7 industry partners during Summer 2024. We cannot wait to hear back about your experience.

Keynote

Watch the i4 keynote speech at the NSCI Senior Symposium by Kurtis Minder about "Cybersecurity: More than a Career, a Purpose". Available here, also available in 360 view here.

i4 Summer Internships

i4 interns, Saray AlSaffar 23 (Bioinformatics), Jacob Brandis 23 (Computer Science), and Madison Pierre 23 (Computer Science), were featured in a St. Edwards University online news article sharing their internship experience during Summer 2022: Launching Students into STEM Careers.

i4 Internship Leads to Job Offer

i4 student Sabur Khan ’22 featured in the St. Edward's University Magazine talks about his experience interning at VMware, an opportunity made available through i4. The internship ultimately led to a full-time job offer with VMware. Congratulations Sabur. Read the full story: A Day at St. Edward's with Sabur Khan

Student and professor collaborate on lab research in the St. Edward's School of Natural Science

We Prepare Next-Level STEM Graduates

STEM graduates who can adapt and innovate in a climate of change are pivotal for success in the 4th Industrial Revolution. Our National Science Foundation-funded Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (i4) focuses on preparing students for this global revolution brought on by smart technology. Students can tap into paid summer research internships, tuition awards for STEM courses not offered at St. Edward’s; events and keynote speakers;  and more. 

What is the 4th Industrial Revolution?

Listen to our SEU to You podcast as Associate Professor of Computer Science Bilal Shebaro shares opportunities for internships, micro-certifications and events offered by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (i4 Institute) to prepare students for this very exciting time in which we live

Explore i4 Opportunities, Events and Funding

Paul Savala, PhD
Co-Director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (i4) and Associate Professor of Mathematics

psavala@wuweicw.com
512-448-8547
John Brooks Williams South 377

Rebecca Thompson, PhD
Co-Director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences (i4) and Assistant Professor of Chemistry

rthomps7@wuweicw.com
512-637-1985
John Brooks Williams North 113

Previous Leadership Team: 

For more information about i4 programs and initiatives, please contact us at i4_institute@wuweicw.com 

OVERVIEW

The Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (i4) coordinates PAID summer internships for NSCI students interested in working at nonprofit or for-profit partner sites. These in-workplace or "remote" training opportunities are designed to expand the preparation of STEM students as they engage in research and development (R&D) projects in a high-paced and competitive setting. Additionally, these experiences allow students to learn about the professional expectations from an employer regarding job responsibilities, firm deadlines, budgetary constraints and technical knowledge needed for a particular R&D project.

Internships are available that are appropriate for any NSCI major, and the internship spots are reserved exclusively for SEU students. Our list of industry partners changes year to year. If you have suggestions for a local industry partner that you’d like to work for, feel free to send suggestions to the i4 team at i4_institute@wuweicw.com.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Historically, internship program applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are currently enrolled at St. Edward’s University in the School of Natural Sciences and will be entering their junior or senior year in Fall 2025. We cannot accept applications from graduating seniors (May 2025). We are, however, currently discussing options for international students - please check back in early 2025 for updated information.

INTERNSHIP INFORMATION

  • Pay: Interns will be paid at least $650/week for full-time (40 hours/week) work.
  • Internship Period: Depending on the industry partner, internship time lengths may vary between 8 and 12 weeks during Summer 2025.
  • Application Deadline: Applications will open for Summer 2025 in February 2025 and will be due on March 1st, 2025.

Summer 2024 Call for Industry Partners, see: Call for Industry Partners.

Summer 2024 Internship Guidelines, see: Internship guidelines.

Summer 2024 Internship Industry Partners and Projects, see: Partners and Projects.

Internship application for Summer 2025 opens in February 2025 and will be due on March 1st, 2025.

The Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (i4) supports a funding mechanism for the distribution of incentives for faculty to write grants. Depending on the size of the grant, faculty may either apply for an i4 Seed Grant Incentive Program, or for the NSCI Major Grant Incentive Program. 

While i4 coordinates and reviews applications for both grants, only the i4 Seed Grant Incentive is managed and funded by i4. For more details on these programs, please see the following links: 

i4 Seed Grant Incentive Program: Program Description and Evaluation Rubric

NSCI Major Grant Incentive Program: Program Description and Evaluation Rubric 

Faculty may apply for these programs through this link.

NSCI Senior Symposium 2024 – Keynote Speaker Address

Friday, March 1, 2024, 1–2 p.m. (Carter Auditorium – JBWS 186)

Speaker: Kurtis Minder, CEO and co-founder of GroupSense

Talk Title:  Cybersecurity: More than a Career, a Purpose

Watch Kurtis Minder's keynote speech here, also available in 360 view.


Lucian Symposium 2023 (co-sponsored by i4) – 3 Keynote Speeches

Keynote Talk 1: Optimizing pediatric cancer treatment and survivorshipDr. Joya Chandra

Keynote Talk 2: Youth-onset type 2 diabetes: Epidemiology, pathophysiology, and implications for healthDr. Elizabeth Jensen

Keynote Talk 3: Using immunotherapeutic strategies to combat tumorsDr. Todd Triplett


NSCI Senior Symposium 2023 – Keynote Speaker Address

Speaker: Dr. Brad Hayes, Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, Director of the Collaborative AI and Robotics Lab, and the CTO of the Circadence Corporation

Talk Title: Making Our Future with Artificial Intelligence into One We Want

Watch Dr. Hayes's keynote speech here, also available in 360 view.


Documentary Screening: Coded Bias

Watch Trailer


Lucian Symposium 2022 (co-sponsored by i4) – 3 Keynote Speeches

Keynote Talk 1: The Art of Making Vaccines by Dr. Alfredo G. Torres. Check out the video in 360 View.

Keynote Talk 2: Vaccine Hesitancy: it doesn’t matter if the vaccine works if nobody gets it by Dr. Julie Bettinger. Check out the video in 360 View. 

Keynote Talk 3: Mapping global and local trends in vaccine confidence  by Dr. Alex Dr. De Figueiredo. 


NSCI Senior Symposium 2022 – Keynote Speaker Address

Speaker: Dr. Ilya J. Finkelstein, Associate Professor of Molecular Biosciences,  The University of Texas at Austin

Talk Title: COVID-19: Viruses, Vaccines, and Variants

Watch Dr. Finkelstein's keynote speech here, also available in 360 view.


NSCI Senior Symposium 2021 – Keynote Speaker Address

Speaker: Dr. France A. Córdova, former NSF Director

Talk Title: One Woman's Response to Challenges in Science Leadership

Watch Dr. Córdova's keynote speech


Documentary Screening: Picture a Scientist

Watch Trailer

Watch Movie (SEU credentials required)

QR code

You can also scan this QR code with your mobile devices camera to watch it on your smartphone or tablet.


Global Health Challenges Symposium 2020

Speaker: Juliano Calil, MESM, PhD., Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, Virtual Planet Technologies

Talk Title: Using Virtual Reality in Climate Adaptation


NSCI Senior Symposium 2020 – Keynote Speaker Address

Speaker: Thong Nguyen, Tech Entrepreneur, Business Leader and TEDxMinneapolis Curator

Talk Title: Out of Our Minds: Creating Futures That Don't Exist Yet

Watch event in 360 View (for best results, watch with VR Goggles)


Documentary Screening and Panel Discussion: Human Nature

INFO SESSIONS

Want to know more about i4?

The i4 Team is available to speak to faculty and students regarding upcoming i4 funding opportunities. These include Tuition Awards, Internships, and Faculty Research Opportunity Awards (ROAs), and Professional Development Grants (PDGs) for tenured and tenure-track NSCI faculty. Please email us at i4_institute@wuweicw.com to schedule a meeting or presentation with us.

i4 interns, Saraya AlSaffar (Bioinformatics ’23), Jacob Brandis (Computer Science ’23), and Madison Pierre (Computer Science ’23), were featured in the St. Edward's news article sharing their internship experience during Summer 2022.

Launching Students into STEM Careers


i4 student Sabur Khan ’22 featured in the St. Edward's magazine who talked about his experience interning at VMware, an opportunity made available through i4. The internship ultimately led to a full-time job offer with VMware. Congratulations Sabur.

A Day at St. Edward's with Sabur Khan


i4 student Ruvi Jaimes '22 representing St. Edward's University at an HSI Roundtable with Texas Senator John Cornyn

Central Texas universities highlight federal support for Hispanic students


i4 leadership team member Dr. Andrea Holgado and i4 student Ruvi Jaimes interviewed by CBS Austin: Hispanic Heritage Month: Latinas in tech community grows in Austin

Hispanic Heritage Month: Latinas in tech community grows in Austin


The Institute for Interdisciplinary Science (i4) is among the Top 10 Reasons for Hilltop Pride

St. Edward’s Is Ranked a Top 10 University in the Western Region, again


Summer 2021 Intern Student Highlights:

Interns highlight videos sorted by industry partner:

VMware  |  TCEQ  |  USDA-GTAC   NEON  |  Macromoltek  |  The Nature Conservancy


Summer 2020 Intern Student Highlights:

Interns Interview Video (2020)


Summer 2019 Intern Student Highlights:

Interns Interview Video (2019)

Karlee Bradley (intern '19): How a Tree’s Life can Change an Ecosystem: Plant Phenology, Gypsy Moths, and Heat Accumulation

Stella Cunningham (intern '19): A Summer Internship Connects Stella Cunningham ’21 to the City of Austin and a Possible Career


Hilltop Views - "Human Nature" November 2019:

Professionals, students talk upsides and downfalls of DNA editing through CRISPr


St. Edward’s University Receives $1.5 Million STEM Grant from the National Science Foundation

Acknowledgement:

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1832282

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