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1. Exploring Multiple Stakeholder Experiences and Impacts to Develop a Framework for Bioscience Industry Internships with Underrepresented Youth

   Gurn, A.; Bass, K.; Gayden, L.; Jarvis, N.; Allen, A. (January 2021, Annual meeting program American Educational Research Association)

   null (Ed.)

   Through a qualitative case study approach, this study examines the pedagogical context of training and mentoring students to undertake STEM internships. This paper explores the learning conditions and outcomes of Biotech Partners (BP), a nonprofit organization working at the intersections of bioscience/biotechnology workforce education in collaboration with public high schools and professional experts and organizations in a range of STEM industries. Incorporating multiple stakeholder perspectives (youth, industry partners, mentors, biotech educators), the study unpacks the nature and impacts of these cross-sector partnerships: In what roles and in what ways do bioscience educators and business and industry workforce members motivate students from diverse underrepresented populations to become aware of, interested in, and prepared for careers in the STEM workforce? 

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2. Virtual Internships: Accelerating opportunity through disruption

   Ekstedt, L.; James, N.; Jona, K.; White, E.; Fleetwood, J; Paja, S. (July 2020, ASEE Global Colloquium on Engineering Education)

   null (Ed.)

   Experiential learning programs like internships and capstone projects are high-impact practices that allow engineering students to build a professional network, apply technical skills in a real-world context, and develop non-academic skills that employers need. In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent school closures impacted the entire engineering education ecosystem, particularly internships and other experiential learning opportunities. Virtual internship, an education intervention developed to broaden participation in experiential learning for non-traditional students, was rapidly deployed to address the disruption to internships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Key challenges that emerged during the implementation process include marketing the new program to existing partners, deciding on a remuneration structure, and navigating IP issues. The paper systematically steps through the implementation process and how the challenges mentioned above were addressed in practice. As life, school and internships return to normal in 2021 and beyond, the Virtual internship intervention can still play a valuable role in the experiential learning landscape. However, higher education institutions may need to intentionally de-couple the educational innovations rapidly developed during the COVID-19 pandemic from being ‘pandemic solutions’ to valuable alternatives that provide equitable and scalable access to educational opportunities and proactively invest in their continued sustainability and growth. 

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3. Enhancing the Success of Minority STEM Students by Providing Financial, Academic, Social, and Cultural Capital

   Enriquez, A. G.; Lipe, C. B.; Price, B. (June 2017, ASEE annual conference & exposition)

   Research has shown that student achievement is influenced by their access to, or possession of, various forms of capital. These forms of capital include financial capital, academic capital (prior academic preparation and access to academic support services), cultural capital (the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors related to education which students are exposed to by members of their family or community), and social capital (the resources students have access to as a result of being members of groups or networks). For community college students, many with high financial need and the first in their families to go to college (especially those from underrepresented minority groups), developing programs to increase access to these various forms of capital is critical to their success. This paper describes how a small federally designated Hispanic-serving community college has developed a scholarship program for financially needy community college students intending to transfer to a four-year institution to pursue a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field. Developed through a National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) grant, the program involves a collaboration among STEM faculty, college staff, administrators, student organizations, and partners in industry, four-year institutions, local high schools, and professional organizations. In addition to providing financial support through the scholarships, student access to academic capital is increased through an intensive math review program, tutoring, study groups, supplemental instruction, and research internship opportunities. Access to cultural and social capital is increased by providing scholars with faculty mentors; engaging students with STEM faculty, university researchers, and industry professionals through field trips, summer internships, professional organizations, and student clubs; supporting student and faculty participation at professional conferences, and providing opportunities for students and their families to interact with faculty and staff. The paper details the development of the program, and its impact over the last five years on enhancing the success of STEM students as determined from data on student participation in various program activities, student attitudinal and self-efficacy surveys, and academic performance including persistence, retention, transfer and graduation. 

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4. Building Interest in Technology Careers through a Five-Week Saturday Program

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--42663  

   Wosczyna-Birch, Karen (June 2023, ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)

   The goal of this program, funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) program, is to provide additional professional and technical skills to cohorts of high school students through a five-week Saturday Program. The curriculum is continuously reviewed and modified to address current skills needed by the technician workforce. While this program was originally proposed and planned as in-person, the leadership team decided to shift to a virtual environment as the pandemic caused the closure of community college campuses where the program was to be held. Program modalities and curriculum were modified to shift to an online experience. In Fall 2022, the program was able to return to an in-person format. The program’s leadership team disseminates best practices through presentations, social media, publications, and workshops at national conferences. The four-day Summer Teachers’ Workshop brings high school and community college educators from throughout the United States to experience the same program that is used for the high school students. The Program’s outreach efforts and the national dissemination of best practices for engaging underrepresented populations in technology careers has a national impact that will potentially increase the diversity of the technician workforce. The program has inspired participants to have confidence in their own abilities. Principals from participating high schools have commented that students who attended the Program have demonstrated an improvement in their academics and behavior due to the knowledge of professional and technical skills that they have gleaned from the program. The program has provided inner-city students from four high schools with out-of-school, hands-on educational programs focusing on professional skills, technical writing and engineering technology competencies. Participant demographics will be discussed in this paper as diversity is a key objective of the program. The program utilizes industry-driven, project-based learning (PBL) and lessons in career and college readiness to prepare students for the workforce. Each student session consists of five consecutive Saturdays and is taught by a team of high school teachers, community college faculty, and instructors with expertise in professional skills, teambuilding, leadership, technical writing, coding, and STEM disciplines. 

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5. Supporting Student Internships with the Nsf Hsi Program at a Medium-Sized Hispanic-Serving Institution

   Cruz, Alberto C.; Derickson, Dennis; Malek, Amin (June 2023, 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition)

   Our work describes the best-practices and findings for a recent NSF IUSE HSI HRD grant. Its overarching goal is to drive an institutional change where the University proactively places students in internships with local industry partners. Students at the University are non-traditional, minority and low-income. They often working twenty to forty hours a week in non-curricular jobs. The Grant Program fully or partially subsidizes compensation for interns through financial aid scholarships. It aims to replace non-curricular work with relevant, real-world engineering experiences. This in turn improves their prospects to find jobs post-graduation. Modern students work while going to school. A small amount of work—less than fifteen hours a week—is beneficial. However, beyond twenty hours a week has a negative impact. Hispanic/Latino(a) students work twenty to forty hours a week, more than any other demographic. This workload affects attendance, GPA, and utility, resulting in poor workforce placement. Academia must concede that work comes first for under-represented students. Universities must take steps to supplant irrelevant work experience with industry internships. Participants of this program received relevant internship/work experience, had better retention rates due to perceived utility of their degree. In the long term we expect timely to graduation due to participants taking internship units as credit toward their degree. Students learned of the internships from faculty members soliciting applications to the program, supported by the grant. Executing the MOU between the University and industry partners took considerable effort and is a major barrier to executing formal partnerships between internship hosts. One MOU is still in negotiation since the start of the program. Despite some student participants reporting prior internship experiences, no one involved in the program would have found an internship this academic year without help from the Grant Program. Some students claimed to have submitted from twenty to fifty applications and the Grant Program was the only internship that called for an interview. Quality of internship varied from corporation to corporation. Universities must carefully monitor the feedback of participants to ensure that the individual goals of the participants are being met. Finding corporations that are willing to invest time in mentorship of students is a critical component to ensure student satisfaction. Even so, regardless of internship quality, participants would not have found internships if not for the Grant Program. According to the participants, internships are an opportunity to network and build lasting professional connections. While students may be unable to turn every internship into a full-time position, each experience will give them something much more valuable and long-lasting: relationships with professionals and co-workers. The connections they make during their time at an organization can be stepping stones to their next opportunity. 

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