Community-UNL Virtual Open House

UNL faculty and students with community members

Content

Join us on March 2nd at 11:00 am CT / 10:00 MT or March 6th at 9:00 am CT / 8:00 am MT for a gathering of UNL campus units seeking community partners to collaborate on experiential student projects, research, or to build relationships.  

This virtual open house provides an opportunity for community stakeholders to visit with multiple UNL Divisions and discuss projects for the summer and fall 2026 semesters. UNL is hosting a series of centralized events so community members, non-profits, business owners, and government officials from across the state can attend one event and learn about all the opportunities they could host.  

Register for an Open House

March 2, 11:00 am CT  / 10:00 am MT

March 6, 9:00 am CT / 8:00 am MT

Business and Industry

Department of Marketing

College of Business

The Marketing Capstone class works with businesses, start-ups, and nonprofits as clients to develop Marketing Plans. The students work as teams of 5 to 6 with the client throughout a 15-week spring semester or a 5-week summer session to develop a marketing plan that can address real short-term or long-term needs or opportunities for each client.  

What is needed: We are looking for 10-12 businesses (including start-ups) or non-profit organizations who want to develop a marketing strategy, including a marketing plan. We ask that the organization make a presentation to each of the two classes and are willing to spend 4 to 5 hours throughout the semester working with the students and attend a final presentation in early May if possible. The students will work with your organization and do outside research to develop an actual marketing plan, including action recommendations, a budget, and a marketing calendar. There is no dollar cost to the client. We do ask for a time commitment from the client of 4 to 6 hours over the semester. 

School of Computing: Senior Design Project Sponsorship

College of Engineering

  • Overview: The University of Nebraska School of Computing’s Senior Design runs a capstone program for junior and senior students majoring in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Software Engineering. This program provides students with real-life experience and prepares them for an industry career.
  • What is needed: We are looking for 20+ industry organizations or UNL departments to sponsor a computing-design project for our students. As a project sponsor, you will receive around 1,500 student hours of development time over two semesters, plus 100% ownership of the Intellectual Property following the project's end. The students work in teams of 5-6 during the two semesters beginning in August and finishing in May of the following year. This program is an excellent way for your company to interact with UNL, create lasting relationships, and give back to the community by supporting the next generation of innovative talent. The cost is approximately $20,000 for industry partners.
More information on Senior Design Projects

Communities and Local Government

Civil Infrastructure Improvement

College of Engineering

Dr. Williamson is looking to partner with communities that have a vision for improvement that includes civil infrastructure. Any project that includes, but is not necessarily limited to: water resources, structures, geotechnical engineering, construction materials, transportation, or environmental engineering will be of interest.

What is needed from the community
Looking for someone to represent the community and its vision for the proposed project. Student teams will want to communicate over the course of two semesters to understand the project and deliver conceptual plans that meet the wants of the community.

Past Projects

Community and Regional Planning Program

College of Architecture

  • Overview: The Community and Regional Planning program engages student teams in community service projects aligned with the university's land grant missions. These projects encompass various areas, including land use planning, economic and housing planning, as well as environmental and hazard mitigation planning. Through these initiatives, tangible benefits can be directly delivered to communities across Nebraska, bolstering community economic development, downtown revitalization, hazard mitigation efforts, and environmental sustainability. Recent projects have had a positive impact on various locales, including David City, Beatrice, Syracuse, Peru, Winslow, and others.
  • What is needed: We are seeking 2-3 new projects for each academic year. These projects may involve land use planning, downtown revitalization, economic and housing development, hazard mitigation planning, transportation planning, healthy community planning, environmental and recreation planning, to address critical community needs. Projects can be operated through courses such as CRPL 990 Planning Studio, CRPL 991 Capstone Studio, CRPL 840 Planning Methods and Analysis, and other elective courses.
Examples from the Program

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction

College of Engineering

Dr. Yunping Liang is looking to support rural and tribal communities in applying for the U.S. Department of Transportation's Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program. This program offers free support to rural and tribal communities to help them plan and design transportation projects. Dr. Liang can assist by answering questions about the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), sharing best practices for applications, addressing technical challenges, and reviewing applications. Most importantly, he can facilitate discussions about potential collaboration between the City and the UNL if the grant is awarded.

If federal funds are awarded, Dr. Liang will continue to support, follow up, and look for opportunities to connect his students and research with the project. This model is called Universities-led Modernizing Infrastructure Coalition.  

Past Projects

Schools

Register for an Open House

March 2, 11:00 am CT / 10:00 am MT

March 6, 9:00 am CT / 8:00 am MT

Faculty Sign Up to Participate