Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies (CPS) has been selected to join the inaugural cohort of the Innovation Sandbox, a new initiative of the Future Universities Alliance, a global network incubated at Duke University to connect higher education institutions around shared learning, renewal, and innovation.

CPS joins 49 institutions from 23 countries in this 12-month peer learning program, which brings together founders, academic leaders, and innovators working to reshape higher education. The Sandbox is organized around three pathways: launching new colleges and universities, advancing high-stakes initiatives within established institutions, and helping proven models scale responsibly through partnerships and networks.

Over the coming year, CPS’s project team will take part in monthly peer-learning sessions, structured milestone meetings with executive sponsors, and the Global Summit, taking place in Durham, North Carolina, October 3–5, 2026. The program runs through June 2027.

Higher education is not short of innovation, but it is short of the structures needed to connect that innovation, help it travel, and make it durable. We are grateful for the trust these institutions have placed in one another to work together in this Alliance.

Noah Pickus, founder of the Future Universities Alliance and Head of Global Strategy and Partnerships at Duke University

For CPS, the Sandbox offers a chance to work alongside a diverse set of peer institutions — from ambitious new universities to established institutions rethinking curriculum, credentials, and institutional design — all united by a shared commitment to expanding access and deepening the quality of learning.

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Learn more about the Future Universities Alliance and see the full list of participating institutions.