InnovAIte Academy
Frequently Asked Questions

InnovAIte@PSU is a professional development initiative designed to help Portland State faculty and staff develop foundational competencies in generative AI. The program equips participants with the skills, tools, and confidence needed to integrate AI into their day-to-day work, whether in research, teaching, or administrative operations. It reflects PSU’s commitment to ethical innovation and future-readiness in higher education.

All PSU faculty and staff are eligible to participate. Employees of the PSU Foundation are also eligible. The program is designed to support a wide range of roles, from instructors and researchers to administrators and support staff. While space is limited to 100 participants in this pilot cohort, the goal is to create a diverse group representing all areas of the university.

Yes—faculty who are not on contract during the summer are still strongly encouraged to apply. If accepted into the program, you will receive early access to the Coursera online courses (Google AI Essentials and Prompting Essentials), which you may complete at your discretion and pace, even before the official start of the fall cohort.

You’ll then join the second cohort in the fall term, where you’ll participate in the in-person Innovation Circles and complete your AI project to earn the InnovAIte Foundations microcredential. This flexible option ensures that faculty can take full advantage of the program’s resources while aligning participation with their academic schedules.

InnovAIte goes beyond one-off training sessions. It’s a structured, four-month learning and application experience that combines formal coursework, peer collaboration, hands-on projects, and a final symposium. Participants receive both practical tools and institutional support to apply what they learn directly to real challenges in their roles at PSU.

Participants should plan for an average of 2–3 hours per week over the four-month program. This includes time for completing Coursera certificates, attending bi-weekly Innovation Circles (track-specific learning sessions).

No, but attendance is important. Participants are expected to attend at least 75% of the Innovation Circles for their selected track to be eligible for the PSU InnovAIte Foundations microcredential. These bi-weekly sessions provide critical support, peer exchange, and real-time feedback on project development.

The program combines asynchronous and in-person components. The Coursera courses (Google AI Essentials and Prompting Essentials) are fully self-paced and online, allowing participants to complete them on their own schedules. However, the bi-weekly Innovation Circles, which are central to the collaborative learning experience, will be held in person to foster richer discussion, peer exchange, and community building. In-person attendance is also expected for the Launch Meeting and the InnovAIte Symposium, which bookend the program and provide key opportunities for networking and visibility.

Participants will complete two self-paced certificates through Coursera: Google AI Essentials and Prompting Essentials. These provide a strong foundation in generative AI, including prompt engineering, ethical considerations, and practical use cases for higher education.

Gemini (Pro) Advanced is Google's most capable AI assistant, powered by the latest Gemini 2.5 Pro model. It supports multimodal inputs and outputs, meaning it can interpret and generate not only text, but also code, images, data tables, PDFs, and more—all within a single conversation. It offers extended context windows (up to 1 million tokens), which allows users to work with large documents, datasets, or complex workflows without losing continuity. This model also incorporates "Deep Think," an enhanced reasoning mode for even more accurate and insightful responses.

As part of InnovAIte@PSU, participants will receive a one-year education license to Gemini Advanced (likely via Google Workspace for Education, which may also include features like NotebookLM Plus and Gemini integrations within Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Meet). This enables access to:

• Advanced prompt engineering tools for more nuanced and powerful outputs, including enhanced reasoning capabilities with Gemini 2.5 Pro's "Deep Think."

• Comprehensive document analysis capabilities (e.g., summarize research papers, extract data from PDFs, analyze large datasets).

• Support for teaching tools, such as auto-generating syllabi, assignments, rubrics, and learning materials, with the ability to tailor content to different reading levels and create study guides from existing notes.

• Workflow streamlining for administrative or operational tasks (e.g., draft reports, automate correspondence, synthesize meeting notes, and create custom backgrounds in Google Meet).

• Creative and analytical support for research, from data visualization ideas and grant proposal drafting to generating code and creating interactive simulations.

• Enhanced multimodal capabilities, including the ability to generate short video clips from text with tools like Veo 2 (available in Gemini Advanced).

• "Deep Research," a feature that allows for in-depth exploration of complex topics and the generation of detailed reports, which can even be converted into podcast-style audio overviews.

Throughout the program, facilitators and track-specific mentors will help participants learn how to use Gemini Advanced responsibly and effectively in their own work. 

Each track is tailored to a different professional context:

• Research Track focuses on scholarly applications like literature review, data analysis, and proposal development.

• Teaching Track supports instructional design, personalized learning, and assessment using AI.

• Operations Track emphasizes process automation, communication, and service delivery improvements.

Participants choose the track that best aligns with their role and goals.

When applying to InnovAIte@PSU, you’ll be asked to select one of three specialized tracks: Teaching, Research, or Operations. Each track is designed to address specific functional areas within the university and aligns with the kinds of challenges and opportunities you’re likely to encounter in your role.

To choose the best fit, consider where AI could most immediately enhance your daily work and long-term goals:

• Teaching Track: Ideal for faculty and instructors who want to enhance student learning, streamline course design, or explore AI-driven assessment strategies. If you're responsible for delivering instruction, mentoring students, or designing curriculum, this track will help you explore tools for personalization, feedback, accessibility, and classroom innovation.

• Research Track: Designed for faculty, postdocs, and research staff who want to accelerate or improve their scholarly work using generative AI. This track focuses on enhancing literature reviews, data analysis, proposal writing, protocol development, and research dissemination, all while integrating responsible and ethical AI practices.

• Operations Track: Best suited for administrative staff, program coordinators, and managers who support institutional functions and services. If your role involves managing workflows, communications, planning, or process improvement, this track will help you explore how AI can automate tasks, generate reports, optimize planning, and enhance service delivery.

If your role spans multiple areas (e.g., you teach and manage a program), choose the track that best aligns with your primary responsibilities or the area where you’re most eager to innovate. Facilitators will tailor support and examples to the needs of each track, ensuring your experience is practical, relevant, and actionable.

Track assignments are finalized at the beginning of the program to support continuity and community building. If your interests or responsibilities shift significantly, we’ll do our best to accommodate a change, though availability may be limited after launch. 

A remote option is not available for the Innovation Circles. These sessions are intentionally designed to be in-person to foster deeper engagement, hands-on collaboration, and meaningful connections among participants. One of the goals of the InnovAIte Academy is to create a strong learning community, and we’ve found that in-person interaction is especially important for building trust, sharing ideas openly, and forming project teams that may present at the InnovAIte Symposium. Your presence will help create a richer and more connected experience—not just for you, but for the entire cohort.

We recognize that many participants have prior commitments, and some occasional absences are understandable. However, to successfully complete the program and earn the InnovAIte Foundations microcredential, participants must attend at least 75% of their Innovation Circle sessions. If you anticipate being away for a significant portion of the program, we encourage you to consider joining Cohort 2 in the fall instead. This will allow you to fully engage with the experience, meet the program expectations, and contribute meaningfully to your track and peers throughout the Academy.

Each participant or team will develop a real-world AI project that addresses a challenge or opportunity within their professional context at PSU. Projects can range from automating a routine process to improving student engagement to accelerating a research workflow. The project is your chance to apply what you’re learning in a meaningful and tangible way.

Yes! Participants are encouraged to form small teams (up to four people), especially if they share common goals or work in the same department. Team-based projects allow for broader impact, richer collaboration, and cross-functional solutions.

Successful participants will receive:

• Two Coursera certificates (AI Essentials and Prompting Essentials)

• A one-year license to Gemini Advanced

• The PSU InnovAIte Foundations microcredential

• Recognition at the InnovAIte Symposium

• Entry into PSU’s growing network of AI practitioners

Yes, participants receive a one-year education license for Gemini Advanced beginning when they complete the Google AI Essentials certification. After that period, continued access may depend on campus-wide licensing agreements or subscription options.