IEECI Area 3: Engineering Veteran Pathways

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

This engineering education research project will partner with an on-campus Veterans Resource Center and a local community and technical college to develop programmatic guides for educating veterans in engineering and computer science. The project is grounded in theories of adult learning and experiential learning theory. The work draws from, and will help guide, recommendations from others active in the field of educating veterans to enter the engineering workforce. The proposed work addresses three categories of activities including enhancing recruitment, accelerating placement, and better supporting transition into the university. The broader significance and importance of this project will be to broaden participation of veterans in the engineering workforce by increasing their enrollment and retention in university engineering programs. Veterans represent a highly diverse group with skills that are potentially synergistic with engineering. A knowledge base will be developed from the data collected on veterans who transition to engineering program, and this data will enable more effective and targeted programs to be developed in the future.