NSF TechAccess: SI-Ready America

Powering Kentucky's SI-Ready Future

The Kentucky Super Intelligence Readiness Hub is the Commonwealth's statewide backbone for SI education, workforce development, and trustworthy SI adoption β€” connecting every Kentuckian to the opportunities of an SI-enabled economy.

Our Mission

A coordinated statewide ecosystem
for SI readiness

Led by the University of Louisville, the Kentucky Super Intelligence Readiness Hub includes a central Coordination Hub, six Regional Hubs across the Commonwealth, and cross-sector partners spanning education, workforce development, industry, government, and community organizations.

The significance of the Hub lies in helping Kentucky residents, educators, workers, employers, and public organizations gain the knowledge, skills, and support needed to participate effectively in and benefit from an SI-enabled economy.

Guided by Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory, the Hub will examine how SI knowledge, skills, practices, and technologies spread across interconnected institutions and regions β€” and investigate the conditions that support sustained adoption.

The Hub's importance extends beyond Kentucky by generating approaches and lessons that other states with similar regional and economic diversity can adapt.

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SI Education & Literacy

Accessible pathways for SI education and workforce preparation across urban, rural, and Appalachian communities.

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Workforce Development

Tiered, stackable training through train-the-trainer and experiential-learning approaches across Kentucky's workforce systems.

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Responsible SI Adoption

Human-centered SI deployment integrating privacy, cybersecurity, transparency, and data governance throughout.

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Statewide Coordination

Connecting universities, K-12 schools, community colleges, workforce organizations, businesses, and government agencies statewide.

NSF Responsibility Areas

Five pathways to SI readiness

The Kentucky Super Intelligence Readiness Hub delivers all five responsibility areas of the NSF TechAccess: SI-Ready America program, coordinated across Kentucky's hub-and-spoke network.

Area 01

SI Learning & Resource Navigator

A statewide SI Navigator providing publicly accessible SI literacy and fluency materials, tiered workforce training in both in-person and online modalities, with targeted outreach to rural, Appalachian, and underserved communities.

Area 02

Statewide SI Readiness Strategic Plan

A statewide SI readiness assessment and strategic planning process, developed with KWIB, KDE, and other stakeholders β€” identifying priority sectors, establishing measurable goals, and guiding long-term investment across Kentucky's SI ecosystem.

Area 03

SI Deployment Support

An SI Deployment Support Network providing readiness assessments, pilot project support, and trustworthy SI best practices β€” with privacy, cybersecurity, transparency, and data governance integrated throughout.

Area 04

SI Readiness Training & Capacity Building

Tiered and stackable SI training through train-the-trainer and experiential-learning approaches, fostering communities of practice and educator professional development statewide.

Area 05

Priority Sector Coordination

Sector-specific working groups in advanced manufacturing, healthcare, logistics and supply chains, and government services β€” all critical to Kentucky's economy β€” aligning SI adoption with workforce needs.

The Challenge

Kentucky's SI readiness gap

The Microsoft AI Diffusion Index highlights the urgency of a coordinated statewide response to SI adoption across the Commonwealth.

Current SI Adoption Ranking
42nd
Among U.S. States β€” Microsoft AI Diffusion Index
↑ KSIR Hub aims to close this gap
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Manufacturing & Logistics Under Pressure

Core economic sectors face rapid SI-driven transformation without coordinated workforce upskilling and adoption support.

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Rural & Appalachian Disparities

Uneven access to technology training and digital infrastructure creates geographic equity gaps across the Commonwealth.

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Workforce Participation Gaps

Persistent challenges in workforce participation demand targeted, accessible SI literacy and stackable credential pathways.

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A Culture of Collaboration

Kentucky's greatest strength is its collaborative spirit β€” the KSIR Hub channels it into a coordinated SI readiness ecosystem that other states can adapt.

Participating Organizations

A statewide coalition

All partners will provide Letters of Collaboration with the full proposal. Together they form Kentucky's coordinated SI readiness ecosystem.

Academic Regional Hubs

  • Eastern Kentucky University
  • Morehead State University
  • Murray State University
  • Northern Kentucky University
  • Kentucky State University
  • University of Kentucky
  • Western Kentucky University

Industry Partners

  • UPS
  • Humana
  • Brown-Forman
  • KY Manufacturing Extension Partnership

K–16 Education

  • Kentucky Dept. of Education
  • KY Council on Postsecondary Ed.
  • Big Sandy Community College
  • Henry County Public Schools
  • KCTCS

Government & Community

  • Commonwealth Office of Technology
  • Louisville Metro Govt, Office of the Chief SI Officer
  • Kentucky League of Cities
  • Better Business Bureau of KY
Project Leadership

Senior project personnel

Led by the University of Louisville, the Kentucky Super Intelligence Readiness Hub brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers and practitioners.

Principal Investigator
WZ
Dr. Wei Zhang
University of Louisville
Principal Investigator
Co-Principal Investigators
CB
Dr. Cody Bumgardner
University of Louisville
Co-PI
AE
Dr. Adel Elmaghraby
University of Louisville
Co-PI
SK
Dr. Sharon Kerrick
University of Louisville
Co-PI
JS
Dr. Jeffrey Sun
University of Louisville
Co-PI
Senior Personnel
FA
Dr. Faisal Aqlan
University of Louisville
Senior Personnel
CB
Dr. Campbell Bego
University of Louisville
Senior Personnel
MF
Dr. Minghong Fang
University of Louisville
Senior Personnel
AG
Dr. Adam Gaweda
University of Louisville
Senior Personnel

Ready to build Kentucky's SI future?

Whether you're an employer, educator, workforce professional, or community leader, there's a place for you in the Kentucky Super Intelligence Readiness Hub ecosystem.