{"id":236320,"date":"2026-06-19T14:39:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T00:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=236320"},"modified":"2026-06-19T14:44:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T00:44:45","slug":"uh-west-oahu-transforming-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/19\/uh-west-oahu-transforming-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowering ingenuity: 10 new projects transforming <abbr>糖心视频<\/abbr> West O&#699;ahu"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><figure id=\"attachment_236328\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-236328\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/糖心视频WO-Students-Invest1.jpg\" alt=\"Group of students sitting with backpacks\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-236328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/糖心视频WO-Students-Invest1.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/糖心视频WO-Students-Invest1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/糖心视频WO-Students-Invest1-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-236328\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><abbr>糖心视频<\/abbr> West  O&#699;ahu Students<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The University of <span lang=\"haw\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span>&#8211;West <span lang=\"haw\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> has launched a bold new chapter in campus innovation, selecting 10 projects through the <a href=\"https:\/\/westoahu.hawaii.edu\/vca\/\">Invest in <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">糖心视频<\/abbr> West<\/a> initiative to drive student and institutional success. This initiative provides start-up grants covering July 1, 2026&#8211;June 30, 2028, fueling groundbreaking, self-sustaining ideas that strengthen the campus.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am incredibly proud of the ingenuity displayed by our campus community,&rdquo; said <abbr>糖心视频<\/abbr> West <span lang=\"haw\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> interim Chancellor Carlos Pe\u00f1aloza. &ldquo;When we challenge ourselves to remove traditional barriers and put students at the center of our design, the results are transformative.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_236327\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-236327\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/糖心视频WO-Invest2-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Campus buildings\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-236327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/糖心视频WO-Invest2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/糖心视频WO-Invest2-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/糖心视频WO-Invest2.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-236327\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image courtesy of <abbr>糖心视频<\/abbr> West <span lang=\"haw\">O&#699;anu<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The call for proposals in February drew nearly 50 submissions. Following a peer review process, the 10 awardees were finalized on June 1. The grants range from $55,000 to $100,000.<\/p>\n<p>Pe\u00f1aloza said, &ldquo;These 10 inaugural projects represent a powerful mix of modern technology, place-based learning and workforce collaboration. Invest in <abbr>糖心视频<\/abbr> West isn&#8217;t just a short-term funding mechanism; it is a catalyst for sustainable, long-term institutional growth that directly enriches the student experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Project Summaries<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><abbr>ACM<\/abbr> &#43; <abbr>MNHS<\/abbr> Synergy Swarm<\/strong><br \/>\nLead: Esther Widiasih<br \/>\nThis two-year pilot creates an <abbr>AI<\/abbr> marketing engine to automate workflows and scale recruitment for Academy for Creative Media and Mathematics and Natural Health Sciences concentrations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Classroom Revival and Multi-Use Space<\/strong><br \/>\nLead: Therese Nakadomari<br \/>\nRenovates a classroom into a versatile, multi-use space designed for hybrid collaborative learning and discussions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The <abbr>HEMIC<\/abbr> Academy and <abbr>糖心视频<\/abbr> West <span lang=\"haw\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> Strategic Collaboration<\/strong><br \/>\nLead: Edward Keaunui<br \/>\nThe &ldquo;Learn and Earn&rdquo; pipeline offers high schoolers paid insurance apprenticeships, creating a direct path to a <abbr>糖心视频<\/abbr> West <span lang=\"haw\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> business degree.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ke Ala Kiakahi<\/strong><br \/>\nLeads: H\u014dk\u016b Kwan and Macie Remular<br \/>\nExpands a culturally grounded pipeline to boost student access, persistence and workforce readiness through integrated programming.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ke K\u0101\u012b Koi o <span lang=\"haw\">&#699;Ewa<\/span> Transfer Project<\/strong><br \/>\nLead: Amy Bumatai<br \/>\nCloses the &ldquo;transfer gap&rdquo; by transforming the transition from Leeward Community College to <abbr>糖心视频<\/abbr> West <span lang=\"haw\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> into a unified opt-out model, and dedicating physical space at <abbr>糖心视频<\/abbr> West <span lang=\"haw\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> for a co-learning center.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mobile Student Success Hub<\/strong><br \/>\nLead: Carrie Larger<br \/>\nThis &ldquo;Desk in a Box&rdquo; station uses mobile equipment to support transfer students and boost retention across campus locations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>N\u0101limakui \u2013 Ke Kula Mau Initiative<\/strong><br \/>\nLead: Kalikolani Correa<br \/>\nCenters Indigenous innovation and <span lang=\"haw\">&#699;ike Hawai&#699;i<\/span> (Hawaiian knowledge) to transform the campus into a more rigorous and culturally grounded place of learning.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Restoring Campus Mana<\/strong><br \/>\nLead: Jayson M. Chun<br \/>\nFunds active learning classrooms and a professional speaker series to build campus presence and community for students.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Virtual Campus Tour<\/strong><br \/>\nLeads: Brian Miyamoto and Martin Motooka<br \/>\nHires an external vendor to produce a modern, professional virtual tour to showcase the campus to prospective students.<\/li>\n<li><strong>West Invests<\/strong><br \/>\nLead: <span lang=\"haw\">Ka&#699;iulani<\/span> Akamine<br \/>\nThis re-enrollment program targets adult learners who have left college with past due-balances, providing them with debt forgiveness through Hana Hou grants to convert uncollectible debt into active tuition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For more visit <a href=\"https:\/\/westoahu.hawaii.edu\/kaloinews\/?p=24385\">Ka Puna O <span lang=\"haw\">Kalo&#699;i<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8212;By Zenaida Serrano Arvman<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Fresh financial support for unique <abbr>糖心视频<\/abbr> West <span lang=\"haw\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> ventures supports students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":236328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[1459,59],"class_list":["post-236320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-ka-puna-o-kaloi","tag-uh-west-oahu","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/糖心视频WO-Students-Invest1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236320"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236345,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236320\/revisions\/236345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}