Hudson County Community College Supports Faculty Innovation Through AI Spark Grants
September 21, 2026
Hudson County Community College (HCCC) faculty utilize the College’s AI Curricular Innovation Spark Grants to strengthen students’ AI literacy and prepare them for their future careers.
September 21, 2026, Jersey City, NJ – Increasingly, Artificial intelligence (AI) is being embedded in nearly every industry throughout the world. With human oversight and sound creative judgement, the technology can automate routine tasks, speed up a medical diagnosis, detect fraud, assess risk, help grow healthier crops, personalize shopping, assist teachers, and more.
As part of its 2024-29 Strategic Plan, Hudson County Community College (HCCC) has committed to preparing students for the evolving workforce by strengthening Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy and helping students understand how AI is shaping their disciplines and future careers.
Now in its second year, the College’s AI Curricular Innovation Spark Grants program encourages faculty to explore responsible and discipline-specific uses of AI in teaching and learning. During its inaugural year, 10 faculty-led projects reached 183 students across English and ESL, mathematics, history, business, accounting, and computer science. Projects ranged from custom AI learning assistants and simulated historical interviews to AI-assisted writing, programming, accounting, and workplace applications. The program is supported by HCCC’s AI Strategy and Governance Council (AISGC) and advances the College's commitment to responsible AI adoption, AI literacy, innovation, and workforce preparation. (Learn about the HCCC 2025-26 AI Curricular Innovation Spark Grant recipients’ projects here!)
“The first cohort showed us the value of giving faculty space to experiment with AI within the context of their own disciplines and courses,” noted Matthew LaBrake, HCCC Associate Vice President, Digital Learning, AI, and Emerging Technologies. “What we learn from those projects helps us better understand where AI can genuinely support teaching and learning, and how we can prepare students to use it responsibly.”
In the program’s first round, faculty identified ethical and responsible AI use and evaluation of AI outputs among the skills most strongly developed. Students, who were asked to question and verify accuracy of AI-generated information, reflect on their AI use, and maintain ownership of their work, described AI as a tutor, coach, brainstorming partner, and source of feedback. Faculty from the inaugural cohort will share their projects, lessons learned, and practical takeaways with colleagues across the College to help inform future approaches to AI in teaching and learning.
In the second cohort of HCCC AI Curricular Innovation Spark Grants, faculty will receive $1,500 to develop and implement a course-level project during the Spring 2027 semester. Projects may focus on areas such as AI literacy, AI-supported teaching strategies, discipline-specific AI applications, assessment redesign, student feedback and support, or preparing students to engage with AI effectively and responsibly.
“AI can reshape instruction and learning in ways that help create new opportunities for faculty, and challenge students to develop higher level critical thinking, AI literacy, and responsible decision making,” said Dr. Lisa Dougherty, HCCC Interim President. “We look forward to selecting the next faculty cohort and seeing the projects they design to help prepare students for their future.”