Research Spotlight:
Hillsborough College
Institution: Hillsborough College
Grant Awarded: Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) Special AI Innovation Center – Preparing Students and Educators for AI-Enabled Workplaces (“AI-PREP4WORK”)
Research Focus: Investigating how immersive learning and AI-supported educational tools can improve AI literacy, workforce readiness, and students’ ability to critically evaluate AI-generated information across multiple academic disciplines
Overview
Hillsborough College was awarded a competitive federal grant through the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) to launch AI-PREP4WORK, a multi-year initiative exploring how artificial intelligence and immersive learning can better prepare students for AI-enabled careers.
Curio partnered with Hillsborough College during the grant development process and now serves as a research and technology partner responsible for several of the project’s immersive learning and AI components.
Rather than studying AI as a standalone technology, the project investigates how students learn to work with AI while maintaining professional judgment, critical thinking, and disciplinary expertise.
Research Questions
The project explores several questions that are becoming increasingly important as AI enters nearly every profession.
Researchers will examine whether immersive, AI-supported learning experiences help students:
- develop stronger AI literacy
- recognize inaccurate or biased AI outputs
- understand when AI should—and should not—be trusted
- apply human judgment alongside AI recommendations
- build confidence using AI within their future professions
The initiative also examines how AI can be introduced across workforce programs such as accounting, cybersecurity, business, construction, hospitality, architecture, and engineering technology rather than being limited to computer science programs.
Curio's Role
As part of the funded project, Curio is collaborating with Hillsborough College to provide the following:
- an AI-powered Study Buddy designed to support participating students within Curio’s immersive learning platform
- immersive learning experiences that encourage students to evaluate AI-generated information rather than simply accept it
- a virtual financial accounting learning experience where students apply accounting principles while critically assessing AI recommendations
- immersive environments that allow researchers to study how AI-supported instruction influences engagement, confidence, and learning outcomes
The goal is not to replace instructors with AI, but to explore how immersive AI tools can complement classroom instruction while keeping educators central to the learning process.
Research Design
AI-PREP4WORK uses a mixed-methods research approach to evaluate both implementation and educational outcomes.
Researchers will collect evidence through:
- pre- and post-assessments
- student and educator surveys
- interviews and focus groups
- classroom observations
- platform usage data
- reviews of student work and instructional materials
Rather than measuring technology adoption alone, the project evaluates whether students become more capable of critically evaluating AI, applying professional judgment, and using AI responsibly within authentic workplace contexts.
Building a Scalable Model for Higher Education
A central objective of AI-PREP4WORK is to develop practices that extend beyond a single institution.
Many colleges have ideas for using AI or immersive technology but lack the internal development resources, technical infrastructure, or grant-writing experience needed to move from concept to implementation.
By involving Curio during the grant-development process, Hillsborough College was able to include a defined immersive-learning and AI implementation strategy within a competitive federal proposal. Following the award, the same partnership can now help translate the proposal into student-facing experiences, research activities, and measurable outcomes.
“The FIPSE award gives Hillsborough College an opportunity to move beyond simply introducing students to artificial intelligence. Through AI-PREP4WORK, students will engage with AI in applied, discipline-specific environments where they must evaluate its outputs, correct its mistakes, and use their own professional judgment. Our partnership with Curio will help us explore how immersive learning and AI-supported tools can strengthen that work for accounting students, CROP participants, and other learners across the College.”
Desh Bagley, Associate Dean of Associate in Science Programs, Hillsborough College
