Partnership Acknowledgment
Prairie is made possible by a generous gift from an anonymous donor, with additional support from industry partners including Google, Microsoft, MathWorks, Hudl, Nelnet, Bayer, Don't Panic Labs, and others committed to responsible AI education.
PRAIRIE AI Ambassador
Empowering students to lead the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence across Nebraska Engineering. Our student ambassadors are trained AI solutions specialists helping staff, faculty, and students put Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and ChatGPT to work.
Learn Together
Workshops and hands-on sessions
Get Help
One-on-one support from trained students
Find Resources
Guides, tips, and weekly updates
Image is AI generated.
Why PRAIRIE
Artificial Intelligence is reshaping every engineering discipline.
The Prairie Initiative is Nebraska Engineering's strategic effort to ensure every student, faculty member, and partner can confidently use AI to accelerate learning, research, innovation, and societal impact.
Rather than focusing only on AI technology, PRAIRIE focuses on responsible AI adoption—building an ecosystem where people, infrastructure, and partnerships work together to create meaningful impact.
Our Vision
Prairie transforms individual AI efforts into a coordinated ecosystem that serves Nebraska, the nation, and the world.
Nebraska Engineering is creating a future where responsible AI enhances human creativity, accelerates scientific discovery, strengthens industry partnerships, and prepares every engineering graduate for an AI-powered workforce. We help our community access AI tools, build practical skills, form collaborations, develop new courses, launch research communities, and connect with partners who are solving real-world challenges.
The PRAIRIE Framework
Four pillars build on each other. Infrastructure enables partnerships, partnerships fuel discovery, and discovery informs how we prepare learners.
Construct
The foundation that enables everything else. Clear AI governance, equitable access to computing, reliable infrastructure, centralized support that reduces the time faculty spend on logistics.
Connect
The relationships that ground and sustain our work. Industry partners providing real-world problems, peer institutions pursuing complementary work, federal partnerships aligned with our research directions.
Cultivate
The human capacity that drives lasting impact. Curriculum that develops AI competency throughout engineering, training that meets faculty and staff where they are, student organizations fostering peer learning.
Create
The innovation engine where new knowledge emerges. Communities of Practice break down departmental silos, seed grants accelerate promising projects, and the PRAIRIE Seminar Series brings cutting-edge expertise to campus.
Who We Serve
Students
Graduate from Nebraska with demonstrated AI competency in your discipline, the judgment to apply it responsibly, and the skills to adapt as the technology evolves.
Faculty & Staff
Benefits include: reduced barriers to adoption, clear policies, accessible tools, reliable computing, communities of peers to learn alongside.
Industry & Community Partners
Graduates are ready to contribute, research is conducted that solves real problems, collaborative relationships are developed that provide mutual value.
Responsible AI
A shift from reactive gatekeeping to proactive stewardship.
The PRAIRIE Framework for AI Integration was co-created by our Student Advisory Board, our Teaching and Learning Community of Practice, and our Industry Advisory Board. It provides a framework for levels of AI use to cultivate the five human capacities responsible practice requires.
