VESTA Resource Center

葡萄种植和酿酒产业是美国农业的重要组成部分，估计经济影响为2,200亿美元。葡萄栽培和酿酒科技联盟(Vesta)资源中心将支持该行业所需的高级技术劳动力的教育。Vesta资源中心将帮助两年制大学实现为学生提供STEM基础知识和行业特定知识和技能的目标，这些知识和技能是在该行业就业和职业发展所需的。该中心将使教师和行业能够分享最佳实践，为他们提供成功的招聘和教育模式，从而丰富他们的课程和业务运营。中心内专家的指导将提高两年制学院获得现有资源和资金以开发、扩大和改进课程的能力和能力。维斯塔资源中心将通过开放获取成功的模式、扩展的资源和由经验丰富的两年制大学教员、学术和行业主题专家组成的网络提供的积极指导，支持两年制大学葡萄栽培和葡萄酒学课程的发展、扩展和增强。参与的两年制学院和行业协会将利用他们的互补专业知识共同努力，旨在丰富葡萄栽培和葡萄酒专业培养熟练技术人员的能力，以满足行业需求。节目内容的可获得性将通过支持所有学习者的在线课程和闭路字幕视频得到加强和支持，包括聋哑人或重听学习者。虚拟和面对面的研讨会将使教师能够与他们的学生分享职业机会和STEM基础对该行业工作的关键重要性。与当地行业和全州协会的合作将使教育工作者能够填补这个快速增长的行业在劳动力发展方面的空白。该中心将与两年制大学和行业协会合作，建立注册学徒制度，这可能会在其他农业行业发挥示范作用。其他农业行业是美国经济中的一个重要部门，但在劳动力发展项目中的比例一直较低。该项目由高级技术教育计划资助，该计划专注于推动国家经济的先进技术领域的教育技术人员。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。

The viticulture and enology industry is an important component of U.S. agriculture, with an estimated economic impact of $220 billion. The Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance (VESTA) Resource Center will support education of the advanced technological workforce needed in this industry. The VESTA Resource Center will help two-year colleges achieve their goals of providing students with the STEM foundational knowledge and industry-specific knowledge and skills needed for employment and career progression in the industry. The Center will enable faculty and industry to share best practices, providing access to successful recruitment and education models that can enrich their programs and business operations. Mentoring by experts within the Center will increase the capacity and capability of two-year colleges to access existing resources and funding for program development, expansion, and improvement.The VESTA Resource Center will support the development, expansion, and enhancement of Viticulture and Enology programs in two-year colleges through open access to successful models, expanded resources, and active mentorship provided by a network of experienced two-year college faculty, academic, and industry subject-matter experts. The participating two-year colleges and industry associations will employ their complementary expertise in a concerted effort aimed at enriching Viticulture and Enology programs’ ability to educate skilled technicians to meet industry needs. Accessibility of program content will be enhanced and supported with online courses and closed-captioned videos that support all learners, including learners who are deaf or hard of hearing. Virtual and in-person workshops will enable teachers to share with their students the career opportunities and critical importance of a STEM foundation for jobs in this industry. Collaboration with local industry and state-wide associations will enable educators to fill voids in workforce development for this rapidly growing industry. The Center will collaborate with two-year colleges and industry associations to establish Registered Apprenticeships that may serve as a model in other agriculture industries, an important sector in the U.S. economy that has been underrepresented in workforce development programs. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.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.