Preparing Students for Careers in Biotechnology

该项目将为国家对受过良好教育的科学家、数学家、工程师和技术人员的需求做出贡献，支持高成就、低收入、有经济需求的学生留在康科迪亚学院并毕业。康科迪亚学院是一所四年制文科院校。在为期6年的时间里，“康科迪亚领先：生物技术指导和辅导”(CONTRISE)项目将为正在攻读生物、化学、计算机科学、数学、神经科学和/或物理学士学位的36名本科生提供奖学金。一年级学生可以获得长达五年的奖学金支持。该项目旨在通过将奖学金与有效的支持活动联系起来，包括学术支持服务、指导、本科生研究经验、带薪实习和参加特定学科的会议，来提高学生在STEM领域的坚持性。通过与当地生物技术公司的合作，该项目将为学生在生物技术领域的职业生涯做好准备--该行业被确定为具有国家重要性的领域，并且在学院周围地区和全国范围内正在经历巨大的增长。由于康科迪亚学院是一所日益多样化的学院，它从一个学生人数偏低的地区招生，该项目有可能扩大STEM领域的参与，并培养生物技术行业的下一代工作者。GRAPH项目的主要目标是招聘、留住和培养有兴趣从事生物技术职业的有学术天赋的低收入学生。四个具体目标将指导项目组的工作。首先是建立一个多样化的申请者群体，采用面向STEM职业、特别是生物技术领域代表性不足的学生的招生战略。第二，提供学术和社会支持系统，重点是留住学者并让他们蓬勃发展。第三是将学者与导师网络联系起来，这些导师将提供个人、学术、社会和职业方面的支持。第四，也是最后一点，是与当地行业合作伙伴合作，提供职业指导、知识和经验，为学者在生物技术领域的成功职业生涯做好准备。将选出12名登山学者组成的三个队列。一旦进入康科迪亚，将为学者们提供一些支持系统。同龄人将首先成立一个迎新俱乐部，该俱乐部将成为第一年的研讨会课程，重点放在STEM成功学习的策略上。攀登奖学金获得者将定期与学术顾问会面，并获得优先的学术支持服务。一个协调的导师网络，包括教职员工、同行和STEM专业人员，将在学者们的学术旅程中为他们提供支持。与当地生物技术公司合作，将为学者提供职业机会，包括职业意识讲座、行业参观、教学研讨会、研究经验和带薪实习。项目评估将由外部评估员进行，形成性指导将由行业咨询小组定期提供。为招募代表性不足的人群、在学术和社会上支持他们、为他们的生物技术职业生涯提供教育和指导，并为他们的成功做好准备而开发和测试的战略的有效性将被传播，以告知更广泛的STEM教育界，从而扩大CORACH计划的影响范围，超出康科迪亚的校园。该项目由NSF的科学、技术、工程和数学奖学金项目资助，该项目旨在增加在STEM领域获得学位的低收入学术天才学生的数量。它还旨在改善未来STEM工作者的教育，并产生关于低收入学生的学业成功、留住、转移、毕业和学术/职业道路的知识。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 will contribute to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by supporting the retention and graduation of high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Concordia College, a four-year liberal arts institution. Over its 6-year duration, the "Concordia Leads: Instructing and Mentoring in Biotechnology" (CLIMB) project will provide scholarships to 36 undergraduate students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Neuroscience, and/or Physics. First-year students may receive up to five years of scholarship support. The project aims to increase student persistence in STEM fields by linking scholarships with effective supporting activities, including academic support services, mentoring, undergraduate research experiences, paid internships, and participation in discipline-specific conferences. Through partnerships with local biotechnology companies, this project will prepare students for careers in biotechnology – an industry identified as an area of national importance and one that is experiencing tremendous growth in the region around the college and across the country. Because Concordia College is an increasingly diverse institution that recruits from a region with a high population of underrepresented students, this project has the potential to broaden participation in STEM fields and build the next generation of workers in the biotechnology industry.The principal goal of the CLIMB project is to recruit, retain, and prepare academically talented, low-income students interested in pursuing careers in biotechnology. Four specific objectives will guide the work of the project team. First is to build a diverse applicant pool with recruiting strategies targeted toward students from populations underrepresented in their pursuit of STEM careers and biotechnology in particular. Second is to provide both academic and social support systems focused on retaining scholars and allowing them to flourish. Third is to connect scholars with a network of mentors who will provide personal, academic, social, and vocational support. Fourth, and finally, is to work with local industry partners to offer vocational guidance, knowledge, and experiences that will prepare scholars for successful careers in biotechnology. Three cohorts of 12 CLIMB scholars will be selected. Once at Concordia, a number of support systems will be provided for the scholars. Cohorts will first form an Orientation Club that will become a first-year seminar course with a focus on strategies for successful learning in STEM. CLIMB scholars will have regular meetings with academic counselors and access to prioritized academic support services. A coordinated network of mentors, including faculty, staff, peers, and STEM professionals will support the scholars throughout their academic journey. In partnership with local biotechnology companies, scholars will be offered vocational opportunities including career awareness presentations, industry tours, teaching seminars, research experiences, and paid internships. Program evaluation will be performed by an external evaluator, and formative guidance will be regularly provided by an industry advisory panel. The effectiveness of the strategies developed and tested for recruiting underrepresented populations, supporting them both academically and socially, educating and mentoring them for careers in biotechnology, and preparing them for success will be disseminated to inform the broader STEM education community, thereby widening the impact of the CLIMB program beyond Concordia’s campus. This project is funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics program, which seeks to increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who earn degrees in STEM fields. It also aims to improve the education of future STEM workers, and to generate knowledge about academic success, retention, transfer, graduation, and academic/career pathways of low-income students.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.