A proposal to Support the Talent Development and Innovation in Sciences (TDIS) Internship Program

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The Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) Network, a non-profit organization, has been instrumental in serving as a catalyst to improve the education of under-represented groups, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This project supports the QEM Talent Development and Innovation in Sciences (TDIS) Internship Program in providing a research-focused professional development initiative that places students at the National Science Foundation as a mechanism to stimulate and support the development of the next-generation STEM workforce through career exposure and mentoring/guidance for underrepresented STEM degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate students. Interns, representing diverse institutions, are exposed to a range of professional development activities that have direct benefits to them professionally, as well as indirect benefits to their home institutions and campus-based peers. The internship program provides personal and professional skills development to facilitate the interns’ successful pursuit of STEM-focused advanced degrees and careers. This human capacity building endeavor will help train a diverse, engaged, and globally competitive STEM workforce prepared to meet future challenges through discovery and innovation.The TDIS internship opportunity leverages and expands the interns' prior learning from school with new experiences from NSF training and mentoring, as well as QEM professional development engagements. Interns further develop their research skills; strengthen their awareness and knowledge of programs, policies, and issues that affect the quality of STEM education, particularly in low-income communities; and sharpen their awareness of general STEM-focused policies, legislation, and programs. Interns benefit from opportunities to engage in research and data analysis; expand their knowledge of graduate school and STEM career preparation; and gain effective networking as well as communications (writing, public speaking, and computer) skills. The program builds on over 30 years of success employing strategies that make the program valuable including the use of technology and leveraging relationships with key stakeholders that make the summer experience more relevant to 21st Century students' professional growth.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.