CyberTraining: Pilot: Institutional Cyberinfrastructure Training Center in a Box

影响网络基础设施(CI)劳动力发展的几个挑战超出了数据生成的显着增加和跨学科研究的需要。仍然存在一个普遍存在的CI系统意识问题，这限制了进入大学学习CI系统或后来进入计算领域的学生数量。该项目建立了一个可供其他机构采用的“盒子里的编码中心”，以支持他们自己的CI用户，并允许建立能够为对编程、计算和数据驱动的科学感兴趣的本科生提供学生主导的同行咨询和指导的中心，以及用于教学和研究的先进CI工具。该项目利用了多恩大学文科计算中心(CCLA)，这是一个模仿大学写作中心的实体。Doane的CCLA面向CI用户，以及不熟悉或不了解CI工具和技术的学生和教职员工，目标是在计算和数据驱动的研究项目中更多地采用技术，特别是CI工具。学生和教职员工可以来参加同行评审和培训，了解如何将编码和其他先进的CI工具整合到他们自己的研究和项目中。面向本科生和教职员工的高级CI技术(大数据集上的高性能和高通量计算)研讨会使各机构能够迅速向其社区介绍这些技术。跨多个学科的课堂模块允许将先进的CI技术轻松整合到现有课程中，从而扩大CI知识的覆盖范围。因此，多恩大学的试点项目符合国家利益，正如国家科学基金会的使命所述--促进科学进步，服务于国家健康、繁荣和福利。这一试点项目有以下具体目标：(1)利用全面的营销战略建立校园计算文化；(2)招聘、培训和管理一批本科生担任同行顾问，并开发准备同行顾问的培训材料；(3)创建与实施编码中心相关的综合资料；(4)开发和实施针对本科生和教职员工的高级CI技术研讨会；(5)开发五个以高级CI技术为特色的课堂模块；以及(6)编辑和维护云中可用的大型开放数据集的精选存储库，本科生和教职员工可以访问和学习。该项目测试了除了CI课程模块和侧重于使用大数据集进行并行计算的CI研讨会之外，编码中心模式是否可以在服务不足的CI用户群体中增加CI技术的采用，即自然科学、计算机科学、数学和工程专业的本科生和这些领域的教师。该项目还确定了这些干预措施是否增加了计算自我效能感，并倾向于从事涉及计算的本科生CI用户的职业。CCIMS项目提供了几种途径，其他机构可以通过这些途径支持传播信息用户，推动计算和数据驱动的科学，并在教育和研究中使用先进的传播与信息工具。CCIMs项目增加了从事CI工作的本科生数量，最初是在多恩大学，后来是在外部机构。CCIMs项目提高了学生和教师的研究效率和竞争力，并加强了与其他学术合作伙伴的合作。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Several challenges impact CyberInfrastructure (CI) workforce development that go beyond significant increases in data generation and the need for interdisciplinary research. There continues to be a general CI systems awareness problem which limits the number of students entering college to learn about CI systems or moving into computational fields later. The project establishes a "coding center in a box," adoptable by other institutions, to support their own CI Users and enable the establishment of centers capable of providing student-led peer consultation and instruction to undergraduate students interested in programming, computational and data-driven science, and advanced CI tools for use in teaching and research. The project leverages Doane University's Center for Computing in the Liberal Arts (CCLA), an entity modeled after collegiate writing centers. Doane's CCLA targets CI Users, as well as students and faculty unfamiliar with or unaware of CI tools and technologies, with the goal of increasing technology adoption, specifically CI tools, in computational and data-driven research projects. Students and faculty can come for peer review and training on how to incorporate coding and other advanced CI tools into their own research and projects. A workshop on advanced CI techniques (high-performance and high-throughput computing on large datasets), targeted at undergraduate students and faculty, enables institutions to quickly bring their community up to speed on these techniques. Classroom modules, across a variety of disciplines, allow advanced CI techniques to be easily incorporated into existing classes, broadening the reach of CI knowledge. The Doane University pilot project thus serves the national interest, as stated by NSF's mission - to promote the progress of science and to serve the national health, prosperity, and welfare. This pilot project has the following specific objectives: (1) Build a campus culture for computing using a comprehensive marketing strategy; (2) Recruit, train, and manage a cohort of undergraduate students to serve as Peer Consultants and develop training materials for preparing Peer Consultants; (3) Create a comprehensive package of materials related to the implementation of a Coding Center; (4) Develop and implement a workshop in advanced CI techniques targeted at undergraduate students and faculty; (5) Develop five classroom modules that feature advanced CI techniques; and (6) compile and maintain a curated repository of large, open data sets available in the cloud that undergraduate students and faculty can access and study. The project tests whether a coding center model, in addition to CI course modules and a CI workshop focused on parallel computation using large data sets, can increase the adoption of CI techniques in underserved CI User communities, namely, undergraduate students majoring in natural science, computer science, mathematics, and engineering, and teaching faculty in those fields. The project also determines if these interventions increase computing self-efficacy and dispositions towards pursuing a career involving computation for undergraduate CI Users. The CCIMS project offers several avenues by which other institutions can support CI Users and advance computational and data-driven science and the use of advanced CI tools in education and research. The CCIMS project increases the number of undergraduate students engaged with CI, initially at Doane University, and later at outside institutions. The CCIMS project results in increased research productivity and competitiveness of students and faculty, and enhanced collaboration with other academic partners.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.