Fusion Studio for Entertainment and Engineering

Fostering interdisciplinary innovation at the intersection of engineering and entertainment. Projects developed through this initiative are showcased during Boiler Gold Rush, inspiring thousands of new Purdue students.

About the BGR Entertainment Challenge
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Previous Proposals

2027 Call for proposals

CALL FOR PROPOSALS NOW OPEN!

The Fusion Studio for Entertainment and Engineering (FSEE), in collaboration with Orientation Programs, invites Purdue faculty to propose innovative, interdisciplinary projects for the next Boiler Gold Rush (BGR) Entertainment Challenge.

Faculty teams are invited to enhance one of four established BGR activities, using creative applications of engineering, technology, design, performance, and entertainment to make these experiences more engaging and memorable for incoming Purdue students.

Selected projects will receive up to $3,000 in seed funding to develop and implement their proposed enhancement.

The Challenge: Enhance the BGR Experience

Proposals should focus on enhancing one of the following BGR activities:

Traditions Tour – this event is a campus tour led by a BGR Team Leader with the purpose of introducing Purdue traditions and landmarks, navigating campus, and exploring their new community
Program Check-In, including locations at the Co-Rec in West Lafayette and Purdue Student Center in Indianapolis – all BGR participants and families are welcome to check-in to the program to receive BGR credentials and connect with key campus partners and sponsors.
Student Concerts, including Slayter Slam and the White River State Park event – this social event features Purdue student bands in collaboration with the Student Concert Committee
Fountain Run – all BGR participants at both West Lafayette and Indianapolis participate in one of Purdue’s most loved traditions, by running through key fountains on campus.

Each of these activities offers a different environment, audience, scale, schedule, and opportunity for creative engagement.

Event	Location (WL, Indy, Both)	Audience Scale	Schedule:
Traditions Tour	Both- outdoors around campus	~ 500 new students in Indy ~ 9,500 in WL	Recurring throughout the week in both locations—activation would only be in ONE location or the other
Boiler Gold Rush and Boiler Gold Rush International Check In	Both WL- Co- Rec Indy- Purdue Student Center	~ 500 new students in Indy ~ 9,500 in WL Parents & families in both locations	WL: 8/14- 8/17 9am- 6pm each day IN: 8/14 and 8/17; 9am- 3pm both days
WL Slayter Slam Concert	Outdoors at Slayter Center	~7,500 students	8/18 8:00pm- 11:00pm
IN White River State Park Concert	Outdoors at White River State Park Amphitheatre	~500 students	8/21 7:30pm- 9:00pm
IN Fountain Run in West Lafayette	Engineering Fountain and Founder’s Park (Loeb Fountain)	~500 students	8/17 2pm- 5pm
Fountain Fest WL	Engineering Fountain, Founder’s Park and Memorial Mall	~9,500 students	8/20 6:30pm- 10:30pm

Faculty are strongly encouraged to review the additional information available for each activity before developing a proposal. This 2027 BGR Entertainment Challenge – Resource folder includes B-roll/video footage, maps, activity descriptions, and other materials to help teams better understand the above BGR experiences and the spaces in which projects may be implemented.

Click here for a list of previously awarded proposals.

What Are We Looking For?

The BGR Entertainment Challenge seeks Purdue-focused projects that enhance existing BGR activities and create engaging, memorable experiences that connect incoming students with Purdue’s identity, traditions, and community.

Proposals should creatively combine art, engineering technology, and entertainment to develop novel and engaging experiences. Proposals should acknowledge the structure of how new students are split up during the program, and how students may engage in the project. New students are assigned a BGR Team Leader and are split into 6 “BGR Hall Teams”. BGR New Student Groups are comprised of 15-20 new students. Approximately 650 Team Leaders in West Lafayette and 60 Team Leaders in Indianapolis support the Boiler Gold Rush programs.

Because successful projects often require both strong technical development and thoughtful audience engagement, proposals should be developed by multidisciplinary faculty teams that bring together complementary expertise. Teams are encouraged to consider collaborations across engineering, technology, design, performance, the arts, communication, or other relevant disciplines.

Above all, proposals should consider two key questions:

How will this project make an established BGR activity more engaging, memorable, interactive, or uniquely Purdue?
How will the project demonstrate an innovative approach that brings together art, engineering technology, and entertainment?
How will this project adjust to the scale of BGR and allow for all participants to engage meaningfully in the activity?

Funding and Faculty Participation

Selected projects will receive up to $3,000 to support development and implementation.

Much of the development and construction work will take place during the spring and summer. Project planning will begin during the spring semester, with operational work increasing in late spring and continuing throughout the summer in preparation for BGR.

Only faculty-led teams will be considered. Undergraduate student-led teams are not eligible. Active faculty involvement and oversight are expected throughout the project early Spring through August, including during development, planning meetings, testing, preparation, and implementation at BGR.

Projects should also be designed with the scale, location, duration, audience flow, and safety requirements of the selected BGR activity in mind.

Proposal Requirements

Interested teams should submit a one-page abstract and proposed budget describing their project and how it will enhance one of the four designated BGR activities.

Abstracts should be no longer than 500 words and should include:

Project title
BGR activity the project is designed to enhance
Names, departments, and contact information for participating faculty
Relevant courses or student groups involved, if applicable
Brief description of the proposed experience
Explanation of how the project enhances the selected BGR activity and connects students to Purdue, referencing documents seen in the previously mentioned resource folder.
Description of how the participating disciplines will contribute to the project
Anticipated student interaction or engagement
Proposed budget outlining how grant funds will be used
Any anticipated space, technical, operational, or safety considerations

Want to Learn More?

Not sure which BGR activity is the best fit for your idea? Interested in participating but looking for collaborators or additional context?

The Fusion Studio and Orientation Programs will host a BGR Entertainment Challenge Meet & Greet in October for faculty interested in learning more about the opportunity. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn more about the four BGR activities, ask questions, discuss potential ideas, and connect with others who may be interested in developing a multidisciplinary proposal.

Timeline

October 2026: BGR Entertainment Challenge Meet & Greet (Date and Location TBA)
December 2026: Proposal deadline
January 2027: Selected projects announced
February 2027: Project kickoffs begin
Spring–Summer 2027: Project development, testing, and preparation
August 2027: Projects implemented during Boiler Gold Rush

SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 15TH

SUBMIT PROPOSALS VIA EMAIL, AS A PDF, TO FUSION-STUDIO@PURDUE.EDU

The BGR Entertainment Challenge is an opportunity to bring together expertise from across Purdue to reimagine familiar traditions and experiences—and help the university’s newest students begin their Purdue journey with something they will remember.

What is the BGR Entertainment Challenge?

The Boiler Gold Rush (BGR) Entertainment Challenge, in collaboration with Orientation Programs and supported in part by the Provost’s Office, provides mini-grant seed support for faculty or students whose research efforts lend themselves toward the creation of interactive/performative technology installations on campus during Boiler Gold Rush, Purdue’s week-long new-student orientation event. Grants of up to $3,000 are offered each year to select proposals that integrate technology, art, and performance in novel ways, with preference given to proposals that offer the possibility of scaling to a larger spectacle, event or pedagogical framework.

BGR Entertainment Challenge projects are opportunities for faculty and students to explore engaging ways of sharing their research with the university campus, in particular to students new to Purdue. During the Boiler Gold Rush experience, new students have opportunities to interact with BGR Entertainment Challenge projects, learning more about the research behind them and perhaps discovering novel ways to combine their multiple interests in their studies at Purdue, from dance and computer programming, neuroscience and projections design, or Pokémon and animal science.

Proposals for BGR Entertainment Challenge projects are accepted in the Fall semester each year. Selected projects are awarded funding in the following January and are expected to be completed for installation during the Boiler Gold Rush in the following August.

For more information about the BGR Entertainment Challenge, email fusion-studio@purdue.edu.