NorthStar™ is the live research platform at the center of L.E.T. Design Innovate's ecosystem — where doctoral research becomes technology, and technology reaches students who need it most.
NorthStar™ is the digital platform that operationalizes Dr. Salena Burke's doctoral research on career identity development for marginalized youth. It is not a career quiz or a job list — it is a research prototype built to test, validate, and refine the CIDR Framework™ in real learning environments.
Developed through doctoral research at the Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology, NorthStar™ puts adaptive technology in the hands of students who have historically been underserved by career exploration tools — and gives researchers, educators, and community organizations a platform to study what works.
Every feature is grounded in evidence. Every interaction generates insight that feeds back into the research cycle — making the platform smarter, more equitable, and more responsive over time.
NorthStar™ guides students through a structured process of self-discovery, exploration, and reflection — powered by adaptive AI and grounded in the CIDR Framework™.
Students explore who they are — strengths, values, interests, and experiences — before any career is mentioned.
Guided journaling and AI-supported prompts help students make meaning from their experiences and aspirations.
Using design thinking, students prototype multiple futures — exploring career pathways as possibilities, not prescriptions.
Responsive AI mediation connects students with guidance, mentors, and resources — keeping humans at the center.
NorthStar™ is the technological expression of the CIDR Framework™. Each pillar of the research framework is built directly into the platform's architecture.
NorthStar™ builds a dynamic identity profile for each student — strengths, interests, values — that evolves as they use the platform.
AI-powered reflection prompts encourage students to examine their experiences and make meaning — not just log activities.
Students explore multiple career scenarios rather than committing to one — treating their future as something to design, not decide.
The platform adapts to each student's responses, connecting them with relevant resources, mentors, and next steps — with human oversight always present.
NorthStar™ exists because three distinct organizations each play a specific, irreplaceable role. Remove any one of them and the platform doesn't reach students.
The doctoral research and CIDR Framework™ that NorthStar™ is built on originated here. L.E.T. Design Innovate conducts the ongoing research that shapes every platform update — keeping the work academically rigorous and evidence-based.
letdesigninnovate.org →JIL takes the research frameworks and builds the actual software. NorthStar™ is JIL's flagship product — turning Dr. Burke's doctoral research into a working platform that schools and students can use today.
jils.com →JBF is how NorthStar™ reaches students — particularly those in Chicago Public Schools. As an approved CPS vendor, JBF delivers the AI Career Identity Workshop and integrates NorthStar™ into its community programming.
jeromebf.org →NorthStar™ is designed to be engaging, reflective, and personally meaningful — not another test or assessment to sit through.
Students build a dynamic profile of who they are — their strengths, interests, values, and experiences — that evolves throughout their journey and forms the foundation of every recommendation the platform makes.
Adaptive prompts guide students through meaningful reflection — not generic questions, but personalized inquiries that respond to what each student has shared, helping them make sense of their experiences and aspirations.
Students discover careers they may never have considered — presented not as prescriptions but as possibilities, filtered through their own identity profile and values rather than generic interest categories.
AI supports exploration, but humans guide the journey. NorthStar™ is designed to amplify the role of mentors, counselors, and educators — not replace them. Every AI interaction keeps a trusted adult in the loop.
NorthStar™ is a living research platform. Educators, counselors, and research partners can access insights that inform how they support students — and contribute to the evidence base that shapes the next iteration of the CIDR Framework™.
NorthStar™ is actively seeking research partners — schools, universities, nonprofits, and foundations that want to bring the platform to their students and contribute to the research that makes it better.
Contact the Jerome Burke Foundation to discuss piloting NorthStar™ in your school — including integration with the AI Career Identity Workshop.
Contact JBF →NorthStar™ generates rich data on career identity development. We welcome academic partnerships and joint research initiatives.
Email Dr. Burke →NorthStar™ is a nonprofit research initiative. Grant support helps us expand the platform, deepen the research, and reach more students.
Discuss funding →NorthStar™ is live and available now. Schools and organizations can access the platform through the Jerome Burke Foundation.