Engineering Excellence Awards for Low-Income Minority Students

波多黎各大学马亚圭斯分校（upm）是一所拥有约12,900名西班牙裔学生的大学，位于波多黎各联邦西部城市马亚圭斯。它的特点是在过去的五年中，平均每年颁发200个科学和数学学位以及650多个工程学位，这证明了它在SEM学科中授予学士学位的富有成效的记录。校园招收来自公立和私立学校的高学历学生，来自各个经济水平。“工程优秀奖”的主要目标是通过奖学金，增加低收入、有学术天赋的学生受教育的机会。该项目旨在改善工程专业学生的教育，提高学生留校率，促进专业发展，激励参与项目的学生继续攻读研究生，并加强工程学院与相关就业部门之间的伙伴关系。这一目标正在通过以下方式实现：(i)向选定的学生提供资金，使他们能够注册并保持全日制学生身份；（ii）要求被选中的学生成为看门人课程的导师，参与以团队为导向的设计项目或本科生研究；（iii）建立师徒关系，帮助获选的学生提高在工程专业取得学术成就所必需的学习技巧，使他们能够更加独立，更有准备地达到工程专业评审的学术标准，并成功实现他们的长远教育目标。这些活动促进了学生的发现和理解；促进教学、培训和学习；激励学生追求更高的工程学位；扩大低收入、有才华的少数族裔学生在工程领域的参与。

The University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, UPRM, is an institution with approximately 12,900 Hispanic students, located in the western municipality of Mayaguez in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is characterized by a productive track record of awarding baccalaureate degrees in SEM disciplines as evidenced by, on the average, 200 science and math degrees and more than 650 engineering degrees per year during the last five years. The Campus enrolls students with high academic credentials coming from both public and private schools, and from all economic levels.The primary goal of the 'Engineering Excellence Awards' is to enhance the educational opportunities for low-income, academically talented students through scholarships. This project is improving education for students in engineering, increasing retention of students, improving professional development and motivating participating students to pursue graduate studies, and strengthening partnerships between UPRM and related employment sectors. This goal is being achieved by (i) providing funds to selected students so that they can enroll and maintain full-time student status; (ii) requiring selected students to become tutors in gatekeeper courses, to participate in team-oriented design projects, or undergraduate research; (iii) creating a mentoring process to help selected students enhance their study skills necessary for academic achievement in engineering so that they may become more independent and better prepared to meet the UPRM's academic standards and also successfully attain their long-term educational goals. These activities are advancing students' discovery and understanding; promoting teaching, training, and learning; motivating students to pursue advanced engineering degrees; and broadening the participation of low-income, talented minority students in engineering.