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，帮助他们为学生在商业、工业和政府(BIG)职业生涯中更好地做好准备，并将为数学科学专业的学生提供一个开展与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，为教师举办暑期培训工作坊，为本科生组织为期一学期的课程和比赛，为参与的本科生组织暑期表彰大会，并获得大实体的支持。该计划包括强大的本科生研究部分，因为学生参与研究已被证明在提高学生获得STEM(科学、技术、工程或数学)学位的成功方面是有效的。本科生将接受指导，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，包括职业机会知识，处理大型组织问题的经验，以及发展有效写作和口头陈述技能的经验。MAA的重点是支持数学科学中代表性不足的群体，这一点也将反映在这个计划中。在商业、工业和政府部门，对STEM毕业生的需求是巨大的。然而，在数学科学领域，许多学生和教职员工并不了解这些领域的众多就业机会，教职员工可能也不知道如何为学生在学术界以外的STEM职业生涯做好充分准备。为了帮助纠正这种情况，我们提出了一项计划，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从事大专院校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方法以及必要的技术和沟通技能的培训。e)随着时间的推移，需要的外部资金越来越少。该项目由NSF数学和物理科学局内的数学科学部和多学科活动办公室联合支持。

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.