Preparing Computer Science Students for Global Challenges of the Twenty-first Century

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This project is directly responding to the need of the nation for more computer science (CS) graduates, and especially the need for more women and underrepresented minorities in CS. Towards these ends the Computer Science (CS) Department of the University of Houston's main campus (UH) is providing scholarships of up to $10,000 per year to academically meritorious, professionally talented and financially deserving computer science majors from diverse backgrounds and with diverse goals.The goals of this project are to: attract talented high school and community college students to CS, build a diverse community of well-qualified scholars who are leaders, increase undergraduate participation in CS research, increase retention and graduation rates, and aggressively disseminate the implemented model and other exemplary models. One unique aspect of the project is a focus on preparing students for global challenges of the 21st century by enriching the academic preparation of the students with: (i) workshops on effective communication and ethics, (ii) presentations on leadership, creativity, adaptation and innovation, (iii) exposure to multiple cultures, and (iv) a course on entrepreneurship and intellectual property. Another unique aspect of this project is the use of gaming and animated story-telling as a community building and peer mentoring activity. In addition the project includes mentoring through peers and faculty, and outreach efforts, accomplished through workshops at high schools and community colleges. CS students are projected to be in demand for the next decade and this project seeks to graduate well-trained CS professionals who will become leaders in this field. Through formative and summative evaluation the investigators will seek to broaden the knowledge base regarding how the student activities addressing global challenges of the 21st century contribute to the goals of increasing retention and graduation rates, and the circumstances under which success occurs.