Center for Adaptive Innovation, Resilience, Ethics & Science

The Active Learning Program

Are you an undergraduate student looking to have a positive impact during your time at UF while developing crucial professional and research skills that can strengthen your competitiveness in the job market and future graduate level education?

Are you a faculty  or staff member engaged in research or a community-based project that could benefit from a team of well-trained undergraduate interns?

Then consider the Active Learning Program!

The Active Learning Program partners with UF faculty/staff and local organizations to better serve our communities and help undergraduate students develop into skilled early-career professionals.

The goals of the Active Learning Program are to:

• Advance UF research and community-based projects.
• Develop students’ academic potential and professional skillsets while helping them define their personal and professional mission, values, and strengths.
• Foster effective campus and community partnerships that build resilience and sustainability.

Interested students apply to internship and research projects; if accepted, students enroll in a semester–long 3–credit internship course (IDS 4940) to receive instruction, training, and mentorship on community engagement and personal–professional development, including research, leadership, collaboration, and communication skills. The Active Learning Program runs Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Classes are typically scheduled for Classes are  typically scheduled for Tuesday, periods 5-6 and Thursday period 6, Tuesday periods 9-10 and Thursday period 10, or Thursday, periods 7-8 and Tuesdays period 8. Internship hours vary based on the project.

Are you a UF faculty member or community organization who could benefit from student interns?  Please let us know about your project so we can recruit the best students for you.   For more information, contact Glen Billesbach at gbillesbach@ufl.edu.

Are you a student interested in this experiential learning?  Applications for Spring 2025 are now open. You can check out available internships here.

 

Here is a list of our past projects and internship sites:

1. Adaptive Health Information Technology for Patients and Caregivers
2. Advancing Information Strategies for the School of Physician Assistant Studies Internship
3. Adverse Childhood Experiences and Family Economic Resource Management
4. Advocating Awareness of Chagas Disease Internship & Research Project
5. Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus Surveillance in Pleasant Street, Gainesville Research
6. AfCultivating Healthy Communities through Faith and Agriculturerican & African American Presence in Alachua County Research
7. Aging and Functional Ability Lab
8. AI-Based Marker less Biomechanical Analysis
9. All of Us Research Program
10. App-Based Student Mindfulness
11. ARTSPEAKS
12. Assembly for Action
13. Assessing Student Performance in a Collaborative Environment in an Undergraduate Bio-History Course by Using Two-Stage Exam
14. Assessing the Impacts of COVID-19 on Different Audiences Across the Southeast U.S.
15. Bard & Broadside Poetry Festival
16. Biological Control of Invasive Invertebrates
17. Biomedical Workforce Development
18. BLAAC2BASICS Internship
19. Bold Inclusion
20. Building a Volunteer Development Framework for the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services
21. Building Brighter Futures Monthly Pledge Campaign
22. Building Infrastructure Through Evidence Internship & Research Project
23. Building Resource Capacity for Underserved Youth (18-25) Internship & Research Project
24. Burden or Lifeblood of the Voluntary Sector
25. Care2 Health Equity Center Internship & Research Project
26. Catalyzing a Career in Research Administration Internship
27. Center for Precollegiate Education & Training Internship
28. Children Beyond Our Borders: Marketing and Development Plan
29. Cinema Verde
30. College PASS Internship
31. Community Engagement & Non-Profit Support
32. Community Outreach for Engineering Service Learning Collaboration
33. Community Resources Educational Tools Campaign
34. Community Weatherization Coalition-Saving Money and Resources for Neighbors in Need
35. Continuing Education for Certified Pesticide Applicators
36. Consider Herbs Community Engagement
37. Control your Cancer Diagnosis
38. Conversations in the Neighborhood
39. COVID-19 Mitigation Effects Research
40. Ceating Content for Pest Management Education Internship
41. Cross-Linguistic Low-Resource Dependency Parsing
42. Crossing Borders through Conversation Volunteer Recruitment
43. Cultivating Healthy Communities through Faith and Agriculture
44. Cultivating Rural-Urban Community Connections
45. Data Management in Multi-Scaling Modelling Efforts
46. Design and Expand Children’s Garden
47. Developing Curriculum for an Online Insect Toxicology Course
48. Developing Honeybee & Beekeeping Extension Books
49. Developing Intervention Manual for Home Health Rehabilitation Therapists
50. Developing and Evaluating Gender and Age Needs Assessment Response to Horticulture Programs
51. Developing Water Quality/Quantity Extension Educational Program
52. Diaper Distribution Program
53. Discovering the Glades: School-Based 4-H Programming
54. Disparities in Diagnosis and Diagnostics in Autism Spectrum Disorder
55. Douglass Center Oral History Project
56. Economic Disparities in Oncology
57. Economic Value of Water: Evidence from Housing Markets
58. Engaging Farmers in Climate-smart Agriculture through Virtual Extension Programs
59. Environmental Economics Online
60. Environmental Persistence of Viruses
61. Establishing the Psychometric Properties of a Novel Toe Strength Measurement Device Research
62. Ethics in the Public Sphere
63. Ethnoecology Garden
64. Evaluation of Mobility Assistive Devices, Such as Canes, Crutches, and Walkers
65. Evaluation of Vegetable and Fruit Freshness Via Machine Learning
66. Evaluation Program of the Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety
67. Evaluation Study of Mental Health Services for Expecting Mothers
68. Eye-Tracking Driving and Vulnerable Road Users
69. Extension Agriculture Research & Publication
70. Extension Food Preservation
71. Family Resource Management
72. First Time Homebuyer Education and Research
73. Family Resource Management
74. Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems
75. Feeding Youth & Families through Agriculture & Outreach Internship
76. Florida AgrAbility: Disabilities in Rural Communities
77. Florida Farmworker Health Screening and Education Program
78. Florida Saves
79. Florida Well Owner Network
80. Foodborne Viruses in Food and Environment
81. Founderbridge Accelerator Mastermind
82. Gator Hatchery
83. Gene Therapy Treatments in Rare Genetic Diseases
84. Genetic Testing Done Equitably and Sustainably
    
85. Graham Civic Scholars
86. GNV Bridge Literacy Program
87. Health Education and Training Center
88. Health Extension and Community Focused Research
89. Health Promotion and Cancer Risk Reduction via Extension
90. Healthstreet
91. Healthy Brain and Child Development Study
    
92. Healthy Habits
93. Hibiscus Sabdariffa, An Alternative Crop for
94. History of the Black Experience in Alachua County
95. Honeybee Education and Outreach
96. Household Level Food Waste: A Citizen Science and Modeling Approach
97. How Motivations, Values, and Success Impact International Service-Learning
98. Human Milk Metabolomics & Microbe-Host Interactions Associated with Pediatric Obesity
99. Human Systems Interactions in Health Information Technology
100. Identify Genetic Basis of Quality Traits Through Gene Editing and Machine Learning Approaches
101. I Gotcha Back (IGB): Mentoring Programming, Evaluation, and Accounting
102. Impact of Habitat Fragmentation on Mosquito Composition and Functional Traits
103. Impact of Microbiome on Insect Behavior and Response to Xenobiotics
104. Impact of In2Care Traps on Mosquito Populations
105. Improving Cervical Cancer Outcomes Globally
106. Improving Survival for Children with Cancer in Latin America
107. Improving The Safety and Quality of Healthcare that Patient’s Receive
108. Insightful Analysis Solutions
109. Innovative Education
110. InSciStemify Internship
111. Integration of AI & CRISPR Approaches in Postharvest Biology of Vegetables & Fruits
112. Integrated Food Waste Management through Agent-Based Modeling
113. International Youth Development Service-Learning Study Abroad Program
114. Investigating Support Interventions for Patients at Home Research
115. Just Income Gainesville
116. Justice League Internship
117. Kokomo Farms Sustainability
118. Latin American and Caribbean Specials Collections
119. Launching A VIBE – KidzHack
120. Learning Support Services for Graduate Students
121. Livestock Innovation Lab Feed the Future
122. Machine Learning and Geospatial Analysis of Quantifying Benefits to Health and Wellbeing Research
123. Machine Learning for Physical Activity and Stress Recognition Using Wearable Devices
124. Making It Your Own and Disadvantages Citizens
125. Meeting the People Where They are: Social Media Campaign
126. Metabolic Mechanisms of Neurotransmitter Dysregulation in Cognitive Aging
127. Microbiome Discovery Research in Insects
128. Mosquitos and Community Health Research in Gainesville, Florida
129. MusicGNV
130. Nature and Nurture
131. Natural Hair Headquarters Internship & Research Project
132. Natural Resources Extension & Outreach to Hispanic Communities
133. Nicotinamide Riboside to Enhance Exercise Therapy in Hypertensive Older Adults
134. Nurses’ Current Use of Electronic Health Records & Documentation Burden in Acute and Critical Care
135. One Health
136. Ordway-Swisher Biological Station User Experience Design
137. Oncologiucal Outcomes of Robotic Pancreatic Surgery
138. Pathogenesis Research Insect Infection and Climate Change
139. Parasites, Behavior and Community Ecology
140. Partner Violence, Substance Abuse, and Use of HIV Preventative Healthcare Services among Women in Florida
141. Peace and Self Empowerment with M.A.M.A.’s Club
142. Perinatal Outcomes – Breastfeeding and Maternal Health Disparities
143. Pharmacological Characterization of Kratom Alkaloids in Vivo and in Vitro
144. Plastic Surgery Post-Operative Outcomes Based on Surgical Facility Type
145. Pleasant Street Historical Research
146. Predictors of Heart Failure Rehospitalization using One Florida and Artificial Intelligence for Nuclear Stress Correlation
     
147. Predicting Soil Health Properties with Infrared Spectroscopy
148. Program for Resource Efficient Flood Resilient Communities
149. Project CONTINUITY
150. Promoting Cost-Share Programs for Land Conservation
151. Psychometric Properties of a Portable Toe Strength Measurement Device
152. Rainbow Kids in Red America
153. Read a Recipe for Literacy and Food Safety
     
154. Reading Pals
155. Reanimating African American Oral Histories
156. Rare Genetic Disease Gene Therapy
157. Reducing the Post-Harvest Loss of Quinoa
158. Renal Snack Development and Dietary Intake
159. Research in Improving the Active Learning Program
160. Respect my Life: Exploring Qualities, Abilities and Achievements throught the Use of Mind Mapping
161. Riding a Virtual Horse
162. Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery
163. Pre-Clinical Efficacy Assessment of Kratom Alkaloids as a Medication for Opioid Use Disorder
164. Prevalence of Chagas Disease and Other Comorbidities among Individuals from Latin America in Florida
165. Renal Snack Development and Dietary Intake
166. Respect Me Project Internship & Research Project
167. Riding a Virtual Horse
168. Role of Sleep in Alzheimer’s Disease
169. Sarcoidosis and ILD Registry/Clinical Trials Research
170. Seminole County 4-H Volunteer Engagement
171. Social Influence Strategies during a Web-based Tobacco Prevention Program for Adolescents
     
172. Social-Economic Impacts of a Novel Unregulated Contaminant Research
173. Soil Color as an Indicator of Soil Health
174. Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety
175. Southern Legal Council Public Relations Development & Social Media
176. Respect Me Project Internship & Research Project
177. Social-Economic Impacts of a Novel Unregulated Contaminant Research
178. Spatial Data Science for Quantifying Environmental Benefits to Human Society Research
179. Sports, Business and the Environment
180. Strategic Collaboration for Engagement and Outreach
181. Studying Alcohol’s Effects on Antecedents of Sexual Aggression via Remote Alcohol Administration
182. Spreading Awareness of Chagas Disease
183. Studying the Salinity Stress Effect in Common Beans
184. Supporting Environmental Education
185. Sustainability and Sports
186. SWAG Neighborhood and Connections
187. SwampBots Community-Driven Robotics Pilot
188. Symbiosis and Agricultural Sustainability
189. The Circular Nature of COVID-19
190. Thrive 25: Help a Gator Intervention to Test the Connections between Diet, Mental Health, and Saliva Microbiomes
191. Trauma, Resilience, Research, and Education Lab 
192. UF Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere
193. UF Center of Excellence for Lactation and Breastfeeding
194. UF Green Sports Internship
195. UFHealth Cancer Center Office of Community Outreach & Engagement Internship
196. UF/IFAS Extension Central District Water Matters Project
197. UF/IFAS Extension Demonstration Garden
198. UF/IFAS Health Extension Program
199. UF IFAS Extension Waste Reduction
200. UF IFAS Extension Horticulture Program
201. Uncovering Parasite Biodiversity
202. Understanding Barriers and Facilitators of Cervical Cancer Screening and Treatment from Rural Kenyan Women Research
203. Understanding Barriers to Lactation among Black and African American
204. Understanding Obesity and Hypertension During Pregnancy using Electronic Health Records
205. Understanding the Transmission, Control, and Impact of COVID-19 from a Mathematical/Dynamical Systems and Economic Perspective
206. Understanding the Value of Self Care Using Social Media
207. Urban Greenspace Exploration: Mapping, Policy Analysis, and Biodiversity
208. Usability of a Robotic Companion to Promote Mobility and Independence of Older Adults
209. Using Extended Reality in Healthcare Nontechnical Skills Training
210. Vena Cava
211. Visual Dysfunction in Persons with Parkinson’s Disease
212. Walls Public Art Project
213. Wearable Devices for Sleep and Activity Tracking Research
214. Web Development and Social Media
215. Web Development for Non-Profits
216. When Conservation Meets Housing Affordability: The Socio-Economic Impacts of Wetland Regulation
217. Why We Walk
218. Wilmot Botanical Gardens Research
219. Women’s Networking Conference
220. Woodland Park Boys and Girls Club
221. Xtraordinary JOY! Masquerade Ball
222. Youth Financial Literacy Google Site
223. Zinc Reearch in Human Nutrition