Impact Lab Practicums offer students immersive, real-world experiences that fuel innovation for the public good, providing a unique opportunity to make meaningful impact while building skills that last well beyond the classroom.
Practicums are open to everyone. No prior experience or application required—just a passion for innovation and a desire to make a meaningful impact.
This class gave me the confidence to believe I can actually solve problems that matter—and the tools to do it.
Public Health & Computer Science major
Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 Practicums
NCS 325 Health Outcomes, AI & Equity (Fall & Spring)
Spring 2026: Unique ID 49120 | T & TH 12:30-2pm
Health disparities cost Travis County over $280 million each year, and by 2050, Texas will lose more than 770,000 life years to premature mortality (St. David’s Foundation).
Join us in this hands-on course to create meaningful impact for the public good, while building real-world skills for their future. No prior experience is necessary—just a passion for innovation and a desire to make a meaningful difference.
Throughout the semester, you will work in teams to address real-world healthcare challenges and disparities using a toolkit of approaches, including how to ethically leverage AI to drive positive change.
To enrich the experience, engaged community, government, and industry leaders join as guest speakers providing real-world context, meaningful interaction, and direct feedback to help ensure solutions are thoughtful, representative, and grounded in impact.
NSC 325 Food Systems & Sustainability (Spring)
Spring 2026: Unique ID 49130 | T & TH 11:00am-12:30pm
Join us in this hands-on course to co-create sustainable solutions for Texas’ food system.
In Austin alone, 1.24 million pounds of food are wasted daily, while 14.4% of residents face food insecurity. We believe there’s real potential to make a lasting, positive impact on our food system.
No prior experience is necessary—just an open mind and a commitment to making a difference. You'll dive into the Texas food landscape, utilize innovative problem-solving frameworks like human-centered design thinking, harness AI for rapid prototyping, and develop valuable communication and teamwork skills. Guest speakers will share their expertise on sustainability and the challenges facing the Texas food system.
NSC 325 Energy Data Analytics & Machine Learning with ConocoPhillips (Fall)
Fall 2025: Unique ID 50285 | T & TH 12:30pm - 2:00pm
Partner with data scientists and engineers from ConocoPhillips designing predictive algorithms, interactive dashboards, and analytic approaches to better monitor oil & gas production, safety features, and production capabilities. Think of it like a semester-long hack-a-thon.
Instructors & Mentorship:
Meet with Data Scientists & Engineers from ConocoPhillips! Also receive mentorship from Dr. Michael Pyrcz of UT's Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering
Project Topics:
Project challenge statements range from predicting when a rod pump might fail, to identifying next drill sites based on geological data!
If you want to learn more before enrolling please reach out to Dr. Michael Pyrcz.
UGS Course with Impact Lab Faculty
UGS 303 Adventure Lab: Field Research for Extraordinary Impact (Fall)
Fall 2025: Unique ID 67084 | T & TH 12:30 - 2:00pm
Forget lectures—this is learning by doing. In The Adventure Lab, you’ll spot hidden opportunities in the world around you, take bold action, and experiment your way to meaningful impact. Whether you’re prototyping new ideas, collaborating on big challenges, or flipping assumptions on their heads, you’ll walk away with skills, habits and a mindset built for innovation, adaptability, and change.
Experiential adventures will include riffing on teamwork with a local Austin jazz band, drawing inspiration from the NYT 10-Minute Art Challenge, and shifting your perspective—literally—at Dining in the Dark.
Contact
If you want to learn more before enrolling, please reach out to ImpactLab@cns.utexas.edu or the professor directly at Charlee.Garden@utexas.edu.