For 2024, the Impact-Focused Education Unconference has been suspended.

We plan to resume holding Unconferences in Summer 2025.

Stay tuned for some exciting future announcements!

 
What's the Unconference about?
Passion. Purpose. Energy. Education. Impact.

What skillsets, mindsets, and portfolios prepare students and faculty for impact-focused careers in a rapidly-changing world? What kinds of learning environments and ecosystems do we need to build to prepare the next cadre of scientists, artists, engineers, sociologists, educators, accountants, who are ready to pursue new intellectual pathways and collaboratively address the challenges of our times, and to understand and solve problems that we don’t even know exist?

Join a community of creative, passionate, and engaged educators, thought leaders, academic entrepreneurs, and social changemakers as they engage in a series of conversations and pop-up workshops during the Impact-Focused Education Unconference. Over three days at the beautiful Mountaintop Campus of Lehigh University, participants will exchange ideas, share proven practices, and build new relationships to develop their own programs and ecosystems that deliver an impact-focused education.

 The themes for the Unconference include (but are not limited to):
  1. 21st Century Skills; Mindsets, Skillsets, and Portfolios for a rapidly-changing world.
  2. Preparing students and faculty to traverse the journey from Inquiry to Impact; Ideation to Execution.
  3. Needs and Opportunities for Faculty Development.
  4. Learning Spaces, Creative Spaces, Maker Spaces.
  5. Programs, Partnerships, Pathways to Impact.
  6. Catalyzing and Accelerating Institutional Culture Change.
 
Why should you attend?

Engage with faculty, professional staff, and thought leaders to pose questions, gain insights, and form new networks. Develop pathways toward innovative best practices in the field of inquiry-driven, impact-focused higher education. Experience the historic and beautiful Mountaintop Campus at Lehigh University and interact with faculty-student teams working on an exciting array of interdisciplinary projects. A far departure from the tyranny of Powerpoint and the exhaustive (and exhausting) programming that dominates conventional conferences, the Unconference format allows for spontaneous networking and unstructured learning opportunities…in a beautiful setting with excellent camaraderie and creative conversations.