NSF 2026: What Works in Workshops – Evolving Short-format Training to Serve Life Sciences STEM Professionals in the 21st Century

在综合活动办公室NSF 2026基金计划的支持下，纽约冷泉港实验室DNA学习中心和乔治敦大学医学中心正在举行一次会议，主题是提高生命科学研究人员、教育工作者和其他STEM专业人员(STEM工作人员)的培训可用性和培训质量。生命科学研究是高度跨学科的，依赖于其子学科以及计算、统计学、工程学和数学领域的快速进步。然而，大学学位往往跟不上变化的步伐，因此，生命科学STEM工作人员没有准备好使用和教授尖端方法和技术。为了应对这些挑战，这些劳动力往往依靠训练营和讲习班等短期培训来获得或加强新需要的技能。短期培训有一些优势，比如聚焦主题和易于获取，但研究表明，它往往不会带来长期的改变或成功地使用新方法。如果无法获得或包容高质量的培训，STEM劳动力之间的差距可能会增加。为期2.5天的会议是实施NSF 2026 Idea Machine“重塑科学人才”理念的第一步，汇集了国内和国际培训、教育和生命科学研究方面的专家，为短期培训的转型制定蓝图并建立社区。改进生命科学的短期培训将促进21世纪STEM劳动力的更好准备和更具包容性。本次会议探讨了在应用来自教育研究和专业发展的既定原则方面的挑战，确定了研究机会，并确定了短期培训的优势和劣势。会议组织者(代表世界上最大的生命科学短期培训计划)制定了讨论主题的大纲，以及确定参与者和纳入除最初参与者之外的广泛社区意见的过程。会议的成果包括相关的研究问题、总结的经验教训以及支持终身学习的建议，这些建议将适用于生命科学和其他STEM领域。最终，这些成果形成了一个改进蓝图，支持社区、组织和项目开发和提供短期培训。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 NSF 2026 Fund Program in the Office of Integrated Activities, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory DNA Learning Center in New York and Georgetown University Medical Center are holding a conference on improving the availability and quality of training for life science researchers, educators, and other STEM professionals (STEM workforce). Life science research is highly interdisciplinary and relies on rapid advances happening across its sub-disciplines as well in computing, statistics, engineering, and mathematics. However, university degrees often fail to keep up with the pace of change and as a result the life science STEM workforce is unprepared to use and teach cutting edge methods and technologies. To address these challenges, this workforce often relies on short-format training such as bootcamps and workshops to acquire or reinforce newly required skills. Short-format training has advantages, like topical focus and ease of access, but studies show it often does not result in long-term change or successful use of new methods. Disparities among the STEM workforce can increase when high-quality training is not accessible or inclusive. The 2.5-day conference is an initial step in implementing the NSF 2026 Idea Machine “Reinventing Scientific Talent” Idea and brings together national and international experts on training, education, and life science research to develop a blueprint and build community for the transformation of short-format training. Improving short-format training in the life sciences will promote a better-prepared, and more inclusive, STEM workforce for the 21st Century. This conference explores challenges in applying established principles from education research and professional development, identifies research opportunities, and defines strengths and weaknesses in short-format training. The conference organizers (representing the largest life science short-format training programs world-wide) developed an outline of discussion topics, and a process for identifying participants and incorporating broad community input beyond the initial set of attendees. The output of the meeting includes relevant research questions, sets of lessons learned, and recommendations for supporting career-long learning that will be applicable in the life sciences and other STEM fields. Ultimately, these outputs form a blueprint for improvement that supports communities, organizations, and programs developing and delivering short-format training.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.