Focus workforce1/31/2024 ![]() ![]() New on-ramps into STEM careers have been facilitated by a recent paradigm shift - from a linear view of the STEM ‘pipeline’ to the more complex notion of a braided river, described as a collection of paths that change and adapt to the individual. Importantly, enrollment and degree data for PhDs in STEM fields overall also show persistent, significant disparities, with only 6% for members of racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in STEM, and 34% for women. based institutions of higher education over a 20-year period (1995-2015) is only 45%, compared to 480% for international students in the same institutions. Additionally, the rate of growth of domestic students enrolled in STEM degree programs within U.S. This percentage decreases significantly in fields that lead to emerging technological career pathways, such as computer science and electrical engineering, both at about 20% domestic student representation at the graduate level. According to recent NCES/IPEDS data, in 2019-2020, domestic students represented about 50% of the graduate degrees awarded in STEM disciplines. Yet, current data suggest that there is still much work to do. Aggressive efforts towards this goal have been underway for decades. The goal of expanding STEM career pathways for U.S. ![]() The TIP directorate, home to the NSF Regional Innovation Engines, Convergence Accelerator, Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT), and Expanding Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity (EPIIC) programs, along with the EDU directorate, home to longstanding programs, such as Advanced Technological Education (ATE), Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST), NSF Research Traineeship (NRT), Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP), and Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), seek to respond to the greatest opportunities and/or challenges to attracting, placing, and retaining diverse domestic talent in emerging technological areas. The CHIPS and Science Act authorizes significant investments in accelerating critical and emerging technologies (e.g., advanced manufacturing, advanced wireless, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science, semiconductors, and microelectronics), as well as in the development of a highly skilled domestic, diverse workforce that can support current and future innovation in these areas. However, the submission of collective input to this RFI spanning different perspectives from multiple constituent communities may be used to inform, refine, and catalyze future NSF investments and programs. This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) does not invite research proposals nor is it a funding opportunity. The NSF Directorates for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) and STEM Education (EDU) are jointly issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to seek input from non-profit organizations, philanthropies, industry, local, state and tribal government offices/agencies, K-12 schools and districts, institutions of higher education, trade and/or vocational schools, and other communities of practice on opportunities and challenges towards creating a robust collection of flexible and seamless STEM pathways in emerging technological areas.
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