NSF INCLUDES Network Connector: Expanded Network for Broader Participation in Aerospace Engineering through Education, Mentoring, and Workforce Development

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The Expanded Network for Broader Participation in Aerospace Engineering through Education, Mentoring, and Workforce Development (ENBP-AE) project seeks to provide research and workforce development opportunities for the nation’s URM students in aerospace engineering and aerospace-related disciplines. The project goal is to equitably scale up the Broadening Participation of Next Generation Aerospace Engineers (BP-AE) program, a NASA MUREP-INCLUDES grant at Florida A&M University, which has successfully provided aerospace internships and educational opportunities to students at three Florida universities through the identification of shared goals, measures, and mutually reinforcing activities. The expansion project will be executed across three fronts. First, the multi-sector BP-AE partnerships that unite the expertise and resources of a broad range of stakeholders will be expanded to include five additional HBCUs, ongoing NSF projects at FAMU, and the NSF Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES National Network. Second, a sustainable and evidenced-based mentoring structure will be implemented for all network participating students. Third, the leadership role of the networked MSIs to strengthen and expand the engineering workforce will be fostered through research and project-based learning activities.Through an innovative integration of industry-supported research, aerospace internships, workforce development, and mentoring activities for undergraduate and graduate students, the ENBP-AE project addresses the need for sustainable solutions to the shared goals of URM students, MSIs, and the aerospace industry. The project will lead to new knowledge about the efficient development of STEM mentoring, research, and educational paths for MSI programs. One aspect of the work is a multi-layered recruitment strategy that includes inter-university project-based learning to increase the STEM identity of URM students and propel their interest in STEM graduate programs. Another aspect of the work is an evidenced-based and sustainable mentoring structure that eases the transition to effective STEM mentoring for network partners. Finally, the work aims to advance the MSI faculty leadership role in broadening participation through collaboration with each other, research centers, and industry.This project is funded by NSF’s Eddie Bernice Johnson Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) Initiative, which seeks to motivate and accelerate collaborative infrastructure building to advance and sustain systemic change to broaden participation in STEM at scale.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.