Preparing Mathematical Sciences Students for Business, Industry, and Government Careers (Pre-BIG)

PreBIG计划将为数学科学教师提供工具和培训，帮助他们更好地为商业、工业和政府（BIG）的职业生涯做好准备，并将为数学科学学生提供进行与BIG相关问题研究的机会。为了实现这一目标，pi将制作一套培训视频，为教师举办夏季培训讲习班，为本科生组织为期一个学期的课程和竞赛，为参与的本科生组织夏季表彰会议，并获得大实体的支持。该计划包括一个强大的本科研究部分，因为学生参与研究已被证明可以有效提高学生成功毕业的STEM（科学，技术，工程或数学）学位。本科学生将得到指导，以便他们发展有助于他们在STEM职业生涯中取得成功的技能，包括对职业机会的了解，解决大型组织问题的经验，以及培养有效写作和口头表达技能的经验。MAA对支持数学科学领域代表性不足群体的关注也将反映在这个项目中。在商业、工业和政府中，对STEM毕业生的需求巨大。然而，在数学科学领域，许多学生和教师都没有意识到这些领域的众多就业机会，教师可能不知道如何为学生在学术界以外的STEM职业做好充分准备。为了帮助纠正这种情况，我们提出了一个项目，让数学科学专业的学生更好地为在商业、工业和政府（BIG）的职业生涯中取得成功做好准备。该计划将：a)提高数学科学教师和本科生对非学术职业选择和相关实习机会的认识。b)促进数学科学教师和在同一地理区域的BIG工作的人之间的联系。c)为本科生提供专注于现实世界大问题的研究机会。d)为本科生和教师提供成功解决大问题的培训，以及必要的技术和沟通技巧。e)随着时间的推移，对外部资金的需求越来越少。该项目由美国国家科学基金会数学与物理科学理事会数学科学部和多学科活动办公室共同支持。

The PreBIG program will provide mathematical sciences faculty with tools and training to help them better prepare students for business, industry, and government (BIG) careers and will provide mathematical sciences students with an opportunity to conduct research on problems related to BIG. To accomplish this, the PIs will produce a set of training videos, conduct summer training workshops for faculty, organize a semester-long course and competition for undergraduate students, organize a summer recognition conference for participating undergraduate students, and secure support from BIG entities. The program includes a strong undergraduate research component since student participation in research has been shown to be effective in improving student success in graduating with a STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) degree. The undergraduate students will be mentored so that they develop skills that will help them to succeed in a career in STEM, including knowledge of career opportunities, experience in working on problems from BIG organizations, and experience in developing effective writing and oral presentation skills. The MAA's focus on supporting underrepresented groups in the mathematical sciences will be reflected in this program as well. In business, industry, and government, there is a tremendous demand for STEM graduates. Yet, in the mathematical sciences, many students and faculty are unaware of the numerous career opportunities in these sectors, and faculty may not know how to adequately prepare students for STEM careers outside academia. To help remedy this situation, we propose a program to better prepare students in the mathematical sciences to succeed in careers in business, industry, and government (BIG). This program will:a) Increase awareness among mathematical sciences faculty and undergraduate majors of non-academic career options and related internship opportunities.b) Facilitate connections among mathematical sciences faculty and people working in BIG in the same geographic region.c) Offer undergraduate students research opportunities focused on real-world BIG problems.d) Provide training for undergraduate students and faculty in successful approaches to BIG problems along with requisite technical and communications skills.e) Require less and less external funding as time goes on.This project is jointly supported by the Division of Mathematical Sciences and the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities within NSF's Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences.