Preparing Students for Careers in Biotechnology

该项目将有助于对受过良好教育的科学家，数学家，工程师和技术人员的国家需求，通过支持高成就，低收入学生的保留和毕业，证明在康考迪亚学院，一个四年制的文科院校的经济需要。在为期6年的时间里，“Concordia Leads：生物技术指导和指导”（CLIMB）项目将为36名正在攻读生物学，化学，计算机科学，数学，神经科学和/或物理学学士学位的本科生提供奖学金。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，带薪实习以及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伙伴关系，该项目将为学生在生物技术的职业生涯做好准备-该行业被确定为国家重要性的领域，并且在学院周围的地区和全国范围内正在经历巨大的增长。由于康考迪亚学院是一个日益多元化的机构，从一个人口不足的地区招收学生，这个项目有潜力扩大在STEM领域的参与，并建立在生物技术行业的下一代工人。CLIMB项目的主要目标是招募，保留，并准备学术上有才华，有兴趣追求生物技术职业的低收入学生。四个具体目标将指导项目小组的工作。首先是建立一个多元化的申请人库，招聘策略针对的是那些在追求STEM职业和生物技术方面代表性不足的学生。其次是提供学术和社会支持系统，重点是留住学者，让他们蓬勃发展。第三是将学者与导师网络联系起来，导师将提供个人，学术，社会和职业支持。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。将选出三组12名CLIMB学者。一旦在Concordia，一些支持系统将提供给学者。队列将首先形成一个定向俱乐部，这将成为一个第一年的研讨会课程，重点是在STEM成功学习的战略。CLIMB学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，包括教师，工作人员，同行和STEM专业人员将在整个学术旅程中支持学者。与当地生物技术公司合作，学者将获得职业机会，包括职业意识介绍，行业图尔斯，教学研讨会，研究经验和带薪实习。计划评估将由外部评估人员进行，行业咨询小组将定期提供形成性指导。为招募代表性不足的人群，在学术和社会上支持他们，教育和指导他们从事生物技术职业，并为他们的成功做好准备而制定和测试的策略的有效性将被传播，以告知更广泛的STEM教育社区，从而扩大CLIMB计划的影响，超越Concordia的校园。该项目由NSF的科学，技术，工程和数学奖学金计划资助，该计划旨在增加低收入学术人才的数量，这些学生表现出经济需求，并获得STEM领域的学位。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术成功，保留，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价值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.