Riipen - Project Based Learning
Project-based learning involves students designing, developing, and constructing hands-on
solutions to a problem. The goal of project-based learning is to engage students and
build upon their creative capacity by working through real world problems, commonly
in small teams.
The University of North Dakota is excited to partner with Riipen, an experiential
learning platform and marketplace for project-based learning. Riipen allows faculty
to embed experiential learning into courses and provide students with experiences
working as a team on real-world problems. Companies use Riipen to more easily access
educators and student talent to work on a business challenge or look into growth opportunities
through courses and internships.
Riipen in thought leadership - The Future of Employer-University Collaboration - A Vision for 2030: A green paper by Jisc, Emerge Education and Riipen
Educators
Riipen is available for all faculty, in all disciplines, working with all levels of students, for both in-class and online experiences and virtual internships. Riipen offers end-to-end support, including course project ideation and design, technical support and student onboarding, and matchmaking with industry partners across the nation.
Riipen Overview for Educators Video
Steps for Educators to Get Started with Riipen
- Join the UND portal as an educator. Note: If you will be using Riipen in your Blackboard course, use the Blackboard integration steps below the first time you sign into Riipen.
- Book a call with Ivan Petrov to discuss if Riipen is right for you.
- Riipen will set you up with a technical onboarding so you are comfortable with the platform and ready to connect your course.
- Once published to our marketplace, Riipen will get to work on matching you with the best industry partners in our network of over 10K employers.
- You will approve the company projects that you want to pair with students.
- The students start working on the projects on a timeline you determine.
You have a team of people who will monitor your course proactively and reach out to offer support if you need it. If you need to get a hold of Riipen with any questions or concerns you can email Riipen at academicsupport@riipen.com and a Customer Delight Specialist will be happy to help you.
Riipen Blackboard Integration
Add a link to Riipen in any Blackboard course using the steps below.
- Log into Blackboard and navigate to your course.
- Within any content area, select Build Content and then select Riipen.
- Give the item a name, adjust settings as needed, then click Submit. This will embed a direct link to Riipen within your Blackboard course.
- Find the content item you created and click on the link. This will pass you through to Riipen and create your account using your UND username and password.
Riipen Resources
Employers/Community Partners
As a business, non-profit, or community organization in our network, we are happy to offer you free access to Riipen - the world’s leading virtual project-based learning platform.
Why use project-based learning?
Generate fresh ideas - Every business has projects sitting on the side of their desk. Work with our students to bring life to new ideas! With their fresh eyes, strategic thinking, and innovative lens students can help your business to grow.
Access talent - Get to know our students before you hire them. Complete short-term project-focused work that is faculty-supervised and let us show you what our students can do. Identify top talent to join your organization.
To be added to our portal, contact UND’s Riipen Account Manager at ivan.petrov@riipen.com. To learn more about Riipen, visit riipen.com.
As a Community Partner/Employer you can create a free Riipen account to become a UND Passholder and work with UND students and faculty.
Steps to Get Started as a UND Passholder
Step 1: Sign Up
Please sign up for Riipen using this special link from UND: UND Passholder link.
As part of the sign up, you’ll be walked through creating both a personal profile, and a profile for your company, which you can include your colleagues.
● What is a Company Profile on Riipen?
Step 2: Create a Project
In order to get connected to students, you will need to Create a Project on Riipen. Your project will essentially be a description of what you would like students to do for your company.
Step 3: View Available Courses or Internship
After you’ve signed up using the UND access link above, you will be able to see all of the courses that are currently being offered here: UND School Portal.
You will also see “My Schools” in your dashboard, as well as recommended courses from the school(s) that you have a pass to.
● What is a Course on Riipen?
● What is an Internship on Riipen?
● What is the difference between a course and an internship on Riipen?
Step 4: Apply to Work With a Course or Internship
If you see a course or internship that looks like a good fit, click on “Submit Project” in the top right corner of the course page. This will prompt you to select a project that you have created. If your project is still a draft, you won’t be able to submit it until you’ve published it.
If you do not yet have a published project on Riipen, clicking on “Submit Project” will take you straight to the Project Wizard in order to create a new project from scratch.
If you need help:you can access Riipen’s live chat by clicking on the orange
circle in the bottom right corner of the screen. Riipen’s business hours are 6 am
to 5 pm PST.