RCN-UBE: Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education

科学探究和环境政策越来越依赖于国际研究网络。环境挑战不能仅仅从一个学科来解决，而是需要跨学科、国家和部门的边界开发创造性的解决方案。该项目采用综合的、跨学科的、国际化的方法，培养生命科学专业的本科生成为未来科学与政策领域的领导者。高等教育青年联盟网络是一个新的多机构网络，致力于为学生提供以协作为基础的全球可持续发展方法的实际经验。参与的学生将成为在线虚拟课堂网络的一部分，该网络将覆盖整个美国和世界各地。学生将学习科学原理如何应用于国家和全球决策，随后有机会参加国际环境谈判。该项目将通过教育学生在国际舞台上有效地解决关键科学问题，并为他们在研究、教育、非政府组织、私营部门和/或政府的职业道路上做好准备，促进美国公民的健康和安全。该网络将建立一个开放的高等教育机构网络，为全球环境治理提供真实的、现实的经验。该网络将建立和测试虚拟教室，为本科生命科学专业的学生建立课程模块和工具库，并通过网络奖学金计划吸引入门级和早期职业专业人员。该网络将发展未来的变革推动者，具有多元文化和跨学科的观点，政策意识，科学探究，以及应对我们时代的全球挑战所必需的国家和国际网络。网络活动将导致(1)通过多元文化和基于项目的学习团队改善生命科学教育，(2)提高生命科学学生的科学素养和公众对科学技术的参与，(3)扩大代表性不足的少数民族的参与，以及(4)通过多元文化和跨学科培训改善这些学生的福祉和保留。为了改善STEM教育，该网络将促进新的跨机构虚拟模块，以培养学生的国际科学外交能力。学生们将通过在当地社区和年度联合国缔约方大会气候会议上分享他们跨机构团队项目的成果，直接提高公众的科学素养。该项目由生物基础设施司生物科学理事会和本科教育司教育和人力资源理事会共同资助，作为其应对《本科生物学教育的愿景与变革：行动呼吁》（http://visionandchange/finalreport/）所提出的挑战的努力的一部分。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Scientific inquiry and environmental policies increasingly depend on international research networks. Environmental challenges cannot be approached from one discipline alone, but require creative solutions developed across boundaries of discipline, country, and sector. This project uses an integrated, interdisciplinary, and international approach to train undergraduate life science students to be future leaders at the science-policy interface. The Youth Alliance in Higher Education Network is a new multi-institutional network focused on providing students with real-world experience in collaborative, evidence-based approaches to global sustainability. Participating students will be part of an on-line virtual classroom network that reaches across the U.S. and around the world. Students will learn how scientific principles are applied in national and global decision-making followed by the opportunity to participate in international environmental negotiations. This project will advance the health and security of U.S. citizens through educating students to work effectively on critical scientific issues on the international stage and prepare them for career paths in research, education, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and/or government.The Network will build an open network of institutions of higher education to provide authentic, real-world experience in global environmental governance. The network will build and test virtual classrooms, build a library of course modules and tools for teaching students in undergraduate life science majors, and engage entry level and early career professionals through the Network Fellowship program. The Network will develop future change agents, with the multicultural and transdisciplinary perspectives, policy awareness, scientific inquiry, and the national and international networks necessary to address the global challenges of our time. The Network activities will result in (1) improved life science education with multicultural and project-based learning teams, (2) increased the scientific literacy and public engagement with science and technology for students in the life sciences, (3) broadened participation among underrepresented minorities, and (4) improved well-being and retention of these students through multicultural and interdisciplinary training. To improve STEM education, the network will facilitate new cross-institution virtual modules that train students in international scientific diplomacy. Students will directly increase public scientific literacy by sharing the results of their cross-institutional team projects in their local communities and at the annual UN Conference of the Parties climate meeting.This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange/finalreport/).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.