Beginnings: Democratizing Research and Experiential Education for Microelectronics

随着美国提高其国内半导体制造能力，需要一支强大、多样化的国内微电子工业劳动力队伍。为了解决这一迫切需求，马里兰大学帕克分校（UMD）正在与两所地区社区学院（CC）——南马里兰学院（CSM）和蒙哥马利学院（MC），以及地区工业技术合作伙伴合作，通过为微电子专业的二年级社区学院学生创建一个新的、基于项目的体验式学习计划，扩大研究和工业准备学生的数量。具体而言，重点将放在对微电子行业未来竞争至关重要的新兴和新技术项目上。社区学院的电气和计算机工程专业服务于不同的人群，提供新的培训机会可以极大地支持代表性不足的学生转到四年制学位课程，提高他们的职业潜力。由于许多相互关联的原因（例如，作为第一代，缺乏指导和包容感，财务挑战等），从当地社区学院过渡到四年制学位大学课程通常很困难，该项目旨在为在这个迅速发展的技术领域寻求职业的学生提供从学术研究到工业实习的必要支持和体验式学习途径。该项目将联合和协调地区教育工作者和工业合作伙伴，创造一个更公平、更有效的教育途径，满足国家对强大的微电子劳动力的需求，以解决未来的问题。微电子大众化研究和体验式教育（DREEM）团队将为社区大学电气工程专业的二年级学生开展一个为期8个月的体验式学习项目，提供关键的技术技能和职业发展机会，包括：为期三周的设计技能实践研讨会，与马里兰大学学院公园分校的教师一起进行为期一学期的动手研究项目，以培养实验室技能，以及与工业合作伙伴一起进行暑期实习。该项目将重点关注新兴技术，如生物传感器制造、神经形态信号处理电路和机器学习，强调下一代设计师的重要技能。学生将由马里兰大学学院公园分校和当地社区学院的教师单独指导，包括实践研究项目、简历准备和实习申请等活动。DREEM的学生还可以使用马里兰大学帕克分校和马里兰大学系统南马里兰自主研究与技术大楼（SMART）的先进实验室和设施，包括马里兰州南部最先进的马里兰自主技术研究创新与探索（MATRIX）实验室进行研究。多个面对面的活动将把学生、教师和行业合作伙伴聚集在一起，进行头脑风暴，建立个人关系，这对专业发展和指导至关重要。为了确保有经济需求的学生的包容性参与，体验式学习项目的每个阶段都将按有竞争力的小时费率提供资金。咨询委员会将指导学生为行业做好准备的有效性，该委员会可以从行业利益相关者以及工程教育倡导、多样性、公平性、包容性和准入等方面提供直接意见。该项目的评估将由马里兰大学教与学转型中心一位经验丰富的教育研究专家进行。该项目与由NSF TIP和EDU董事会资助的NSF ExLENT计划保持一致，因为它旨在为来自不同专业和教育背景的个人提供体验式学习机会，以增加他们对新兴技术领域职业道路的兴趣和机会。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。

As the U.S. ramps up its domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity, a strong, diverse, domestic microelectronics industry workforce is needed. To address this urgent need, the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) is partnering with two regional community colleges (CC) — the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) and Montgomery College (MC), and regional industrial technology partners to expand the pool of research- and industry-ready students by creating a new, project-based, experiential learning program for second-year community college students in microelectronics. Specifically, the focus will be on projects in emerging and novel technologies critical for competitive future careers in microelectronics. Electrical and Computer Engineering programs in Community Colleges serve a diverse population, and providing new training opportunities can significantly support underrepresented students in transferring to 4-year degree programs, boosting their career potential. The transition from a local community college to a 4-year degree university program is often difficult due to many interrelated reasons (e.g., being first generation, lack of mentorship and sense of inclusion, financial challenges etc.) and this project seeks to provide the needed support and experiential learning pathway from academic research to industrial internships for students that seek careers in this rapidly expanding technical area. This project will unite and coordinate regional educators and industrial partners to create a more equitable, efficient, educational pathway that serves the national need for a strong microelectronics workforce to solve the problems of tomorrow. The Democratizing Research and Experiential Education for Microelectronics (DREEM) team will carry out an 8-month experiential learning project for second-year community-college students in Electrical Engineering to provide critical technical skills and career-advancing opportunities that includes: a focused 3-week practical workshop on targeted design skills, a semester-long, hands-on research project with University of Maryland, College Park faculty to develop laboratory skills, and a summer internship with industrial partners. With a focus on emerging technologies such as manufacturing of biosensors, neuromorphic signal processing circuits, and machine learning, this project will be emphasizing skills important for the next generation of designers. Students will be individually co-mentored by faculty from the University of Maryland, College Park and local community college faculty with advising activities such as hands-on research projects, resume preparation, and internship applications. DREEM students will also have access to advanced laboratories and facilities at both the University of Maryland, College Park and the USMSM (University System of Maryland, Southern Maryland) Southern Maryland Autonomous Research and Technology (SMART) Building including the state-of-the-art Maryland Autonomous Technologies Research Innovation and eXploration (MATRIX) Lab in Southern Maryland for research. Multiple in-person events will bring the student cohort, faculty, and industry partners together for brainstorming and the creation of personal relationships that are critical for professional development and guidance. To ensure inclusive participation of students with financial needs, each stage of the experiential learning project will be funded at a competitive hourly rate. The effectiveness of preparing students for industry will be guided by an Advisory Board that enables direct input from the industry stakeholders as well as perspectives from engineering education advocacy and diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. Evaluation of the project will be performed by an experienced Education Research Specialist from the University of Maryland Teaching and Learning Transformation Center. 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.