SL/VIP Fall Expo

The expo highlights projects that connect academic learning with real-world questions, partners, and communities. Presentations may include posters, displays, artifacts, graphics, videos, demonstrations, or other materials that help students explain their work to a broad audience.

 The expo also offers a visible snapshot of experiential learning at Boise State. For students who are new to these programs, it can serve as an introduction to the kinds of projects, partnerships, and team-based work that happen through Service-Learning and Vertically Integrated Projects.

Service-Learning connects course learning with community-engaged work and helps students apply academic knowledge in real-world settings. Boise State describes it as a high-impact teaching and learning approach that enhances student learning, addresses community issues, and builds students’ capacity to be changemakers.

Vertically Integrated Projects gives students the opportunity to work on long-term, faculty-led, often interdisciplinary projects while building skills over time. Boise State’s VIP program emphasizes mentorship, project-based learning, leadership development, and sustained participation in complex team efforts.

 Together, these experiences show the value of public-facing undergraduate work, such as supporting student growth and creating opportunities for mentorship, collaborative efforts, and community impact.

The expo features students in Service-Learning courses and VIP teams, along with the mentors, instructors, staff, and partners who support their work. It is also open to campus and community attendees who want to learn about student projects and the impact of experiential learning at Boise State.

Students present their work in a format that fits the project, such as a poster, display, artifact, or demonstration. Presenters should be ready to explain the project’s purpose, process, outcomes, and significance in clear, accessible language for visitors from different backgrounds.

Call for team applications open in September-October. Watch this page for updates or email us at urminstitute@boisestate.edu.

• Arrive early to check in and set up your poster or materials.
• Be present for your full session.
• Share work that reflects genuine inquiry, scholarship, or creative activity. This can include asking questions, gathering and interpreting evidence, developing analysis, or making an original artistic or scholarly contribution.
• Be prepared to explain your project clearly to a broad audience. A strong presentation helps visitors understand the project’s purpose, process, findings or creative approach, and why the work matters.
• Communicate in ways that are clear, respectful, and accessible to attendees from different disciplines and backgrounds.
• Follow conference guidelines on professionalism and research ethics.
• Credit mentors and collaborators appropriately in your poster, slides, or performance.

Attendees can explore student work, talk with presenters, and see the many ways Boise State students connect academic learning with research, design, reflection, and community engagement. The expo is an opportunity to support students, learn from campus and community partnerships, and better understand the range of work generated through Service-Learning and VIP.

Email us at urminstitute@boisestate.edu.