BlazerPulse enables users to create and manage communities and track, measure and share the impact of their volunteer and service-learning activities and community-engaged research.
A new way to organize, promote and measure engagement and scholarship on campus and in our community now is available to faculty, staff, students and community partners.
BlazerPulse, an online platform at uab.edu/blazerpulse, will enable UAB to reduce barriers to community engagement, connect university expertise and effort with community needs and partners and improve our ability to communicate quickly and directly.
Its launch coincides with the MLK Day of Service Jan. 21, during the annual Community Month activities and just in time to showcase 50 Acts of Service, a service-driven element of the university’s celebration of its 50th Anniversary Year.
“BlazerPulse will enable us to connect dots, fill in gaps and support internal and community partners by creating a central place for seeking, fulfilling and documenting community engagement by faculty, staff and students,” said Emily Wykle, project director in the Office of the President. “It also will simplify access for community partners who noted that they had difficulty finding a single point of contact — a front door — when they needed our help.
During the past several months, liaisons have been identified in schools and administrative units and among long-time community partners to help establish their presence on BlazerPulse and post upcoming volunteer opportunities for the spring semester. UAB will continue to provide training and assistance to bring all eligible campus and community partners into the platform in 2019.
“Now we have a way to capture data that can reflects the depth and breadth of the impact UAB has in Birmingham and beyond,” Wykle said. “All we need is you.”
Get started
Follow these steps or download this BlazerPulse user guide and list of liaisons to get started.
- Go to uab.edu/blazerpulse and log in with your BlazerID and password
- Set up a profile (add a picture and information about you and the causes you support).
- Browse UAB subgroups and join the ones that make sense for you.
- Explore upcoming service opportunities with community partners.
- Check out your personal dashboard and start recording impacts.
BlazerPulse is part of a comprehensive, integrated strategy for community engagement that began about two years ago to compile an inventory of outreach programs, survey faculty, staff and students about their activities and interests and meet with community partners to discuss their goals, needs and obstacles to working with UAB. The 2017 surveys and focus groups informed the objectives for the community engagement pillar of the university’s strategic plan, Forging the Future.