HSI Pilot Project: Improving Experiential Skills for a Diverse Software Engineering Workforce via Project-based Internships

在改进的本科生STEM教育：拉美裔服务机构计划的支持下，这个Track 1项目旨在为本科生在软件行业的职业生涯做准备。整个劳动力都在使用软件，对合格开发人员的需求也在不断上升。这为改善对软件职业感兴趣的拉美裔学生和女性的招聘提供了一个重要机会，因为这些群体在计算机劳动力中的比例历来偏低。此外，软件开发专业的学生往往需要完成额外的在线培训才能找到工作，这对低收入学生、在职人士和其他人来说可能是一个挑战。乔治亚格温尼特学院(GGC)是一家开放访问的HSI，该项目将满足对更大、更多样化的技术劳动力的需求，并通过高质量的指导、与非营利组织的长期合作以及基于项目的带薪实习提供严格的培训。该项目的预期结果是：(A)毕业前和毕业后的成功增加，以及低收入和代表性不足的学生在软件劳动力中的代表性增加；(B)关于在真实客户的真实世界软件项目中培训学生的有效方法的新知识；以及(C)服务于不同社区的当地非营利组织的效率提高。该项目将探索结合专业培训、指导和社区非营利组织实施的实习计划的最佳实践。随着对准备充分的软件专业人员的需求持续增长，提供吸引人的途径来扩大对软件职业的参与至关重要。作为一家为拉美裔学生服务的机构，GGC提供了一个理想的校园，帮助拉美裔学生、低收入学生和其他人提高毕业后的成功。该项目旨在通过以下方式实现这一目标：(1)为软件开发学生提供实习职位、培训和指导，使他们能够在为非营利组织参与真实、高影响力的项目时获得适销对路的技能；(2)在GGC培养包括校友和行业合作伙伴在内的软件开发社区，并提供持续的职业发展；(3)制定战略，在软件开发经验、课程和学位项目中招募、吸引和支持拉美裔女性；(4)与当地拉美裔社区的非营利组织建立可持续的合作；以及(5)通过门户网站、开放的教育材料、会议演示和出版物在全国范围内传播项目成果。该项目由HSI计划资助，该计划旨在加强本科生STEM教育，扩大对STEM的参与，并建设HSIS的能力。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。

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program, this Track 1 project aims to prepare undergraduate students for careers in the software industry. Software is utilized across the entirety of the workforce and the demand for qualified developers is constantly rising. This poses a significant opportunity to improve recruitment of Hispanic students and women with interests in software careers, as these groups have historically been underrepresented in the computing workforce. Further, software development students often need to complete additional online training to obtain employment, which can represent a challenge to low-income students, working individuals, and others. This project at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC), an open-access HSI, will address the need for a larger and more diverse technical workforce and provide rigorous training through high-quality mentorship, long-term collaborations with nonprofit organizations, and paid project-based internships. The anticipated outcomes of this project are: (a) increased pre- and post-graduation success and improved representation of low-income and underrepresented students in the software workforce; (b) new knowledge about effective approaches for training students on real-world software projects with real clients; and (c) improved efficiency of local nonprofit organizations that serve diverse communities.The project will explore best practices for internship programs that combine specialized training, mentoring, and implementation at community nonprofits. Providing engaging pathways to broaden participation in software careers is critical as the need for well-prepared software professionals continues to grow. As a Hispanic-Serving Institution, GGC provides an ideal campus to help increase post-graduation success of Hispanic students, low-income students, and others. The project aims to achieve this by (1) offering internship positions, training, and mentoring to software development students, allowing them to gain marketable skills as they engage in authentic, high-impact projects for nonprofit organizations; (2) fostering a software development community at GGC that includes alumni and industry partners and provides ongoing professional development; (3) develop strategies to recruit, engage, and support Hispanic women in software development experiences, courses, and degree programs; (4) creating sustainable collaborations with nonprofit organizations in local Hispanic communities; and (5) disseminating program outcomes nationally through a web gateway, open educational materials, conference presentations, and publications. This project is funded by the HSI Program, which aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs.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.