Symposium on Undergraduate STEM Education 2026 and Beyond: Achieving Exceptional Undergraduate STEM Education for All

National Academy Of Sciences, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This project will contribute to the national needs for a strong STEM workforce and a citizenry that understands science and technology. To this end, the award will support a national public dialogue about actions that should be taken now to better align undergraduate science, technology, education, and mathematics education with the needs and goals of tomorrow's students and tomorrow's workforce. The Board on Science Education and the Board on Higher Education and Workforce at the National Academy of Sciences will convene the meeting. The focus of the meeting will be on how undergraduate STEM education should respond to the rapidly changing context of higher education, including demographic and societal changes, changes in workforce demands, advances in technology, and increased interdisciplinary approaches. The overall goal is to create education systems that anticipate future societal needs and provide quality STEM education for all students regardless of their backgrounds, goals, or pathways through undergraduate learning. The event and related activities will be organized by a nine-member planning committee in consultation with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the National Science Foundation. Participants will consider issues such as: the roles of technology in both the students' educational experiences and in their future work; ways to integrate convergent thinking into undergraduate learning to engage students in compelling problems; how to support teaching, learning, and the preparation of the STEM workforce, including in STEM teaching. These insights will be helpful to professional organizations, to colleges and universities, and to NSF and other federal agencies. A planning committee will organize a two-day public symposium, along with stakeholder engagement activities that will take place before and after the symposium. The project activities will include developing a dedicated website, hosting webinars, sponsoring a writing competition, and publishing a written summary of the events and their outcomes. Targeted efforts will be made to ensure broad participation, so that the discussions will include perspectives from minority-serving institutions, community colleges, specialized institutions, rural colleges and universities, and other groups that are not as frequently included in national STEM education conversations. The efforts will draw on research and successful programs to engage students, educators, researchers, higher education administrators, policy makers, funders, and representatives from industry in conversations about the future of undergraduate STEM learning. The impact of the project will be extended through outreach to a diverse set of stakeholders from a wide variety of institution types, so that they can engage with and inform discussions on undergraduate STEM learning, current resources, and future opportunities. This award is co-funded by the NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education, Division of Engineering Education and Centers, and Office of Polar Programs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.