Beginnings: Experiential Learning on Digital Agriculture and Plant Phenotyping Technologies (DAPPT)

该项目旨在通过解决STEM毕业生短缺的问题来服务于国家利益，以满足食品、农业和自然资源部门日益增长的需求。由于有可能通过作物健康和环境的实时数据来彻底改变农业，迫切需要优先考虑STEM教育，并培养一支能够推动数字农业和表型技术创新的熟练劳动力。该项目的主要目标是在数字农业和植物表型技术(DAPPT)方面提供身临其境的学习机会，特别是针对社区大学的学生。由佛罗里达农工大学(FAMU)、内布拉斯加州林肯大学(UNL)和普渡大学(PU)三所机构合作开展的FAMU和UNL将通过向STEM项目或副学士学位课程的注册学生提供现场体验学习活动，专注于吸引历史上代表性和服务不足的群体和社区大学生，普渡大学将通过举办关于精准农业先进技术的研讨会，将该项目的覆盖范围扩大到行业工作者和种植者。该项目的综合方法包括每年在佛罗里达州、内布拉斯加州和印第安纳州创建三个参与者队列，合作伙伴为队列访问和培训课程的旅行提供便利。通过全面的体验式学习活动，包括暑期实习、研讨会、实地考察、基于学期的研究和开发实习，DAPPT项目旨在让参与者掌握在数字农业和植物表型技术领域从事职业所必需的技能、知识和专业能力。该项目由历史黑人学院和大学本科项目(HBCU-UP)共同资助，该项目提供奖项，以加强HBCU的STEM本科教育和研究。该项目与由NSF TIP和EDU董事资助的NSF ExLENT计划保持一致，因为它寻求支持来自不同专业和教育背景的个人的体验式学习机会，以增加他们对新兴技术领域的兴趣和获得职业道路的机会。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。

This project aims to serve the national interest by addressing the shortfall in STEM graduates required to meet the growing demands of the food, agriculture, and natural resources sectors. With the potential to revolutionize agriculture through real-time data on crop health and environment, there is a critical need to prioritize STEM education and cultivate a skilled workforce capable of driving innovation in digital agriculture and phenotyping technologies. The primary objective of this project is to provide immersive learning opportunities in digital agriculture and plant phenotyping technologies (DAPPT), with a particular focus on community college students. Collaboratively undertaken by three institutions including Florida A&M University (FAMU), the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), and Purdue University (PU), FAMU and UNL will focus on engaging historically underrepresented and underserved groups and community college students by offering on-site field experiential learning activities to those enrolled in STEM programs or associate degree programs, and PU will expand the reach of the project to encompass industry workers and growers through workshops on advanced technologies for precision agriculture. The project's comprehensive approach involves the creation of three participant cohorts annually in Florida, Nebraska, and Indiana, with the partners facilitating travel for cohort visits and training sessions. Through a well-rounded combination of experiential learning activities, including summer internships, workshops, field visits, semester-based research and development internships, the DAPPT project aims to equip participants with the requisite skills, knowledge, and professional competencies essential for pursuing a career in digital agriculture and plant phenotyping technologies. This project is co-funded by the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), which provides awards to strengthen STEM undergraduate education and research at HBCUs. This project aligns with the NSF ExLENT Program, funded by the NSF TIP and EDU Directorates, as it seeks to support experiential learning opportunities for individuals from diverse professional and educational backgrounds to increase their interest in, and their access to, career pathways in emerging technology fields.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.