QEM Outreach Forum on Building Research and Education Capacity in Engineering at Minority-serving Institutions

Quality Education For Minorities Network, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

Public Abstract The Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network will conduct a series of capacity building workshops to help Minority-serving Institutions (MSIs) successfully compete for research funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Directorate. As engineering education continues to become more influential for US national prosperity, ensuring that students from MSIs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions) are adequately prepared to compete in this landscape is imperative. MSIs play a vital role in developing the future STEM workforce in the United States. The United States is becoming more racially diverse and will be comprised of a majority people of color by 2044. Simultaneously, jobs in the United States are becoming more technical and will require education, training and skills that are currently not being offered at scale, especially to underrepresented minorities. With the current racial gaps in the attainment of engineering degrees, coupled with the demographic changes in the United States, if existing gaps remain, future jobs could remain unfilled, leading to a loss of global competitiveness for the United States. The nation’s more than 700 MSIs enroll almost 5 million students, nearly 30 percent of the nation’s undergraduates and produce one-fifth of the nation’s STEM bachelor’s degrees. These capacity building initiatives will enable MSIs to be more competitive for awards in the NSF’s Engineering directorate, and thereby allow MSIs the opportunity to build a critical infrastructure and create more sophisticated programs that will help facilitate the next generation of diverse leaders in engineering research and education. QEM will conduct two workshops (virtual and live sessions) to assist 150 engineering faculty and administrators (deans/chairs) in preparing proposals specifically for the NSF’s Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) and other divisions within the Directorate for Engineering (ENG). Workshop participants will be recruited from MSIs with programs in engineering, engineering education, 3+2, and 2+2 dual degree pathways. The overall purpose of the project is to broaden the number of MSIs funded in EEC and other engineering programs and to build collaborations among engineering researchers at MSIs. The conceptual framework for this project is rooted in institutional theory, which can clarify how MSIs address limited financial resources against their mission to serve underrepresented students. The project’s goals are to: increase institutional awareness of EEC and other ENG divisions’ competitive funding resources to build engineering capacity at MSIs; (2) broaden participation of faculty at MSIs in engineering research; and (3) promote collaborative efforts at MSIs. In keeping with these goals, the specific objectives of the project are to: (1) Plan and conduct an initial two-day Virtual Information Sharing and Funding Opportunities Forum for 100 MSI faculty to increase their awareness of EEC and other engineering divisions’ funding opportunities and advance the understanding of MSIs on how to effectively develop institutional administrative support to compete for funding opportunities at the university and/or cross-campus levels; (2) Conduct a two-day Live Proposal Development Workshop for 50 MSI engineering Faculty interested in submitting proposals to EEC and other engineering divisions; (3) Provide additional guidance to participants through post-workshop, consultant-led, individualized technical assistance sessions to encourage their submission of engineering-focused proposals; and (4) Develop the Engineering Educators Minority Innovation Network, a broadening participation network of MSIs to facilitate mentoring, networking and collaboration efforts among and between engineering faculty at MSIs as well as with current EEC PIs and Program Directors. 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.