CyberTraining: Pilot: A Professional Development and Certification Program for Cyberinfrastructure Facilitators

该网络培训试点项目正在启动认证网络基础设施促进员培训和发展(CCIFTD)计划，这是首个针对网络基础设施促进员的非入学职业发展认证。数字基础设施(CI)工作人员严重缺乏CI促进员，他们直接与研究人员合作，推进其研究的计算密集型/数据密集型方面。CCIFTD的目的是证明精通所有科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)学科所需的核心技能，以促进计算/数据密集型研究。重点是关键的专业/人际(软)技能，以及互补的研究计算技术主题。CCIFTD将建立(A)一套技能和(B)一种确定传播与信息促进者是否具备这些技能从而值得认证的手段。该项目通过加速STEM研究促进科学进步，特别是通过培训和认证一批国家研究计算专业人员，他们直接与STEM研究人员合作，推进其研究的计算/数据密集型方面。这类研究在所有STEM学科中正变得越来越重要，同时大规模和先进计算的学习也变得更加困难。财务效率是通过“培训培训者”的方法来实现的：CCIFTD培训的每一位协调人预计将在他们的职业生涯中与数十或数百名研究人员合作。该项目有一套明确的方法：1.通过调查(I)经验丰富的CI协调人，(Ii)超级计算中心主任等CI组织领导人，以及(Iii)使用CI的STEM研究人员，确定对CI促进最有价值的技能。2.通过讲习班上的试点测试和在线资源，为每种技能制定一种培训机制、一种考试工具及其计分标准。3.建立认证路径，即共同值得认证的徽章的子集。4.测试标记方法。5.评估CCIFTD方案在试点项目期间和结束时的成功情况，以改进CCIFTD，并确定其成功程度。项目目标包括：1.从传播与信息促进者的角度：(A)提供培训并证明掌握对传播与传播促进至关重要的技能；(B)培养和扩大传播与传播促进者群体。2.从传播与信息组织的角度来看：增加传播与传播促进服务的接受，从而促进传播与传播。3.从STEM研究人员的角度来看：通过应用许多STEM研究人员缺乏的CI专业知识，提高计算/数据密集型STEM研究的生产率。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 CyberTraining pilot project is initiating the Certified Cyberinfrastructure Facilitator Training and Development (CCIFTD) program, a first-of-its-kind, non-matriculated certification of professional development for Cyberinfrastructure Facilitators. The Cyberinfrastructure (CI) workforce suffers from a critical deficit of CI Facilitators, who work directly with researchers to advance the computing-intensive/data-intensive aspects of their research. CCIFTD's purpose is to attest to proficiency in core skills needed for facilitating computing/data-intensive research, across all Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The focus is on crucial professional/interpersonal (soft) skills, and complementary research computing technical topics. CCIFTD will establish both (A) the set of skills and (B) a means for determining whether a CI Facilitator has these skills and thus merits certification. This project promotes the progress of science by accelerating STEM research, in particular by training and certifying a national cohort of research computing professionals who work directly with STEM researchers to advance the computing/data-intensive aspects of their research. Such research is becoming increasingly important across all STEM disciplines, while at the same time large scale and advanced computing is becoming more challenging to learn. Financial efficiency is achieved via a "train the trainers" approach: every Facilitator trained by CCIFTD is anticipated to work with dozens or hundreds of researchers over their career.The project has a well-defined methodology: 1. Determine the skills that are most valuable for CI Facilitation, by surveying (i) experienced CI Facilitators, (ii) CI organization leaders such as supercomputing center directors, and (iii) STEM researchers who use CI. 2. Develop for each such skill a training mechanism, an examination instrument, and its scoring rubric, via pilot testing at workshops and via online resources. 3. Construct certification pathways, namely subsets of badges that, collectively, merit certification. 4. Test badging methods. 5. Evaluate the success of the CCIFTD program both during this pilot project and at the end, to improve CCIFTD as it progresses and to determine how successful it has been. The project objectives include: 1. From the perspective of CI Facilitators: (a) Provide both training and proof of mastery in skills that are mission critical to CI Facilitation; and (b) Cultivate and expand the CI Facilitators community. 2. From the perspective of CI organizations: Increase uptake of CI Facilitation services, and therefore of CI. 3. From the perspective of STEM researchers: Increase computing/data-intensive STEM research productivity, by applying CI expertise that many STEM researchers lack.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.