Community Engaged Scholarship

The Institute for Research & Engaged Scholarship (IRES) is committed to supporting engaged teaching, research and scholarship at the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu. This includes collaborating with faculty and staff and supporting curriculum, campus life and community engaged teaching. Engaged scholarship is a form of scholarship that involves collaborative and reciprocal relationships between university campus communities (faculty, staff, undergraduate students) and our surrounding communities to exchange knowledge, share resources, transform society and advance community interests. It differs from basic social and scientific research which often serves the interests of individuals and academic institutions. IRES believes that the university experience should be conducted in the active pursuit of transforming society. Participation in engaged scholarship is a fundamental part of faculty teaching & undergraduate  experience that offers students the opportunity to prepare for real-world careers and graduate school. 

IRES seeks to support with innovative projects, inclusion of undergraduate research as it provides a supportive space for students to:

• Think critically and out of the box
• Be active and engaged in knowledge acquisition and application
• Learn of specific and regional place-based knowledges, diverse languages and customs, stories, histories and political states of Hawaiʻi and Oceania as a region where the Hawaiian islands exist
• Ask fundamental questions about the needs of people and communities and engage in the quest for serving the public good at the local, national and international scale

IRES supports undergraduate students as they pursue their scholarly interests by

• Connecting community organizations with professors & courses that provide students with undergraduate research & service learning experience.
• Seek funding as requested by divisions and professors to support undergraduate research and study experiences and curriculum development
• Cultivate opportunities to publish and disseminate creative scholarly results within Hawaiʻi, Oceania and globally
• Support undergraduates who are seeking to apply for graduate research programs at the masters level through advising and supporting graduate school applications
• Establishing research resources in tandem with the Undergraduate Research and Creative Works Symposium