CyberTraining: Pilot: Institutional Cyberinfrastructure Training Center in a Box

一些挑战影响着网络基础设施（CI）劳动力的发展，这些挑战超出了数据生成的显著增加和跨学科研究的需求。一般的CI系统意识问题仍然存在，这限制了进入大学学习CI系统或以后进入计算领域的学生的数量。该项目建立了一个“盒子里的编码中心”，可供其他机构采用，以支持他们自己的CI用户，并使建立的中心能够为对编程、计算和数据驱动科学以及用于教学和研究的高级CI工具感兴趣的本科生提供以学生为主导的同行咨询和指导。该项目利用了多恩大学文科计算中心（CCLA），这是一个模仿大学写作中心的实体。Doane的CCLA针对的是CI用户，以及不熟悉或不了解CI工具和技术的学生和教师，其目标是在计算和数据驱动的研究项目中增加技术采用，特别是CI工具。学生和教师可以来参加同行评议和培训，了解如何将编码和其他高级CI工具纳入他们自己的研究和项目中。针对本科生和教师的高级CI技术（大型数据集的高性能和高吞吐量计算）研讨会使机构能够迅速使其社区跟上这些技术的速度。跨越各种学科的课堂模块允许将高级CI技术轻松地整合到现有的课程中，从而扩大了CI知识的范围。因此，多恩大学的试点项目符合国家利益，正如美国国家科学基金会的使命所述——促进科学进步，为国家健康、繁荣和福利服务。是项试验计划的具体目标如下：(1)透过全面的市场推广策略，建立校园电脑化文化；(2)招募、培训和管理一批本科生担任同行咨询师，并为准备同行咨询师编写培训材料；(3)创建与编码中心实施相关的综合材料包；(4)针对本科生和教师开发和实施高级CI技术研讨会；(5)开发五个以先进CI技术为特色的课堂模块；(6)编制和维护一个精心策划的大型开放数据集存储库，这些数据集可以在云中使用，供本科生和教师访问和学习。除了CI课程模块和专注于使用大数据集并行计算的CI研讨会之外，该项目还测试了编码中心模型是否可以在服务不足的CI用户社区（即自然科学、计算机科学、数学和工程专业的本科生以及这些领域的教学人员）中增加CI技术的采用。该项目还确定了这些干预措施是否会增加计算机自我效能感，以及本科生CI用户追求涉及计算的职业的倾向。CCIMS项目提供了一些途径，其他机构可以通过这些途径支持CI用户，推进计算和数据驱动的科学，以及在教育和研究中使用先进的CI工具。CCIMS项目增加了与CI合作的本科生的数量，最初是在多恩大学，后来是在外部机构。CCIMS项目提高了学生和教师的研究效率和竞争力，并加强了与其他学术伙伴的合作。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。

Several challenges impact CyberInfrastructure (CI) workforce development that go beyond significant increases in data generation and the need for interdisciplinary research. There continues to be a general CI systems awareness problem which limits the number of students entering college to learn about CI systems or moving into computational fields later. The project establishes a "coding center in a box," adoptable by other institutions, to support their own CI Users and enable the establishment of centers capable of providing student-led peer consultation and instruction to undergraduate students interested in programming, computational and data-driven science, and advanced CI tools for use in teaching and research. The project leverages Doane University's Center for Computing in the Liberal Arts (CCLA), an entity modeled after collegiate writing centers. Doane's CCLA targets CI Users, as well as students and faculty unfamiliar with or unaware of CI tools and technologies, with the goal of increasing technology adoption, specifically CI tools, in computational and data-driven research projects. Students and faculty can come for peer review and training on how to incorporate coding and other advanced CI tools into their own research and projects. A workshop on advanced CI techniques (high-performance and high-throughput computing on large datasets), targeted at undergraduate students and faculty, enables institutions to quickly bring their community up to speed on these techniques. Classroom modules, across a variety of disciplines, allow advanced CI techniques to be easily incorporated into existing classes, broadening the reach of CI knowledge. The Doane University pilot project thus serves the national interest, as stated by NSF's mission - to promote the progress of science and to serve the national health, prosperity, and welfare. This pilot project has the following specific objectives: (1) Build a campus culture for computing using a comprehensive marketing strategy; (2) Recruit, train, and manage a cohort of undergraduate students to serve as Peer Consultants and develop training materials for preparing Peer Consultants; (3) Create a comprehensive package of materials related to the implementation of a Coding Center; (4) Develop and implement a workshop in advanced CI techniques targeted at undergraduate students and faculty; (5) Develop five classroom modules that feature advanced CI techniques; and (6) compile and maintain a curated repository of large, open data sets available in the cloud that undergraduate students and faculty can access and study. The project tests whether a coding center model, in addition to CI course modules and a CI workshop focused on parallel computation using large data sets, can increase the adoption of CI techniques in underserved CI User communities, namely, undergraduate students majoring in natural science, computer science, mathematics, and engineering, and teaching faculty in those fields. The project also determines if these interventions increase computing self-efficacy and dispositions towards pursuing a career involving computation for undergraduate CI Users. The CCIMS project offers several avenues by which other institutions can support CI Users and advance computational and data-driven science and the use of advanced CI tools in education and research. The CCIMS project increases the number of undergraduate students engaged with CI, initially at Doane University, and later at outside institutions. The CCIMS project results in increased research productivity and competitiveness of students and faculty, and enhanced collaboration with other academic partners.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.