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Goal Three: Research Grand Challenges

Become internationally known for our research and creative work

The complexities of today’s global challenges require approaches that address them head-on with fresh thinking and dynamic, diverse teams. We will elevate our research operations to solve problems that matter.

With a true collaborative ethos, CU Denver will build a research enterprise of interdisciplinary teams specially designed to solve some of the biggest societal challenges of our time.

We will bring together a diversity of researchers, artists, and designers to knock down disciplinary boundaries to create innovative and impactful outcomes for our city, region, and world.

Our research enterprise will be internationally respected, well-funded externally, and well-supported internally through state-of-the-art physical, digital, and administrative infrastructure.

The work we’ll do:

  • Launch a campus- and community-wide process to identify challenges we plan to address, taking into account societal need, our strengths, and our expertise.
  • Build the ecosystem—human, physical, digital, and financial—needed to facilitate and grow a contemporary interdisciplinary research and creative work enterprise that focuses and amplifies our impact.
  • Create new, agile organizational structures that facilitate high-performance, interdisciplinary teams and uniquely integrate arts, humanities, and creative activities as part of our research approach.
  • Elevate and incentivize research, align support of graduate students with our research agenda, and create conditions for all our scholars to do their best work and reach their full potential.
  • Partner with CU Anschutz to advance data analytics and science across our research and education.

We're there when:

International research communities recognize CU Denver’s new research model that works for all by addressing society’s grand challenges in highly effective and collaborative ways.

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