Increasing Interest and Employment in STEM Studies and Manufacturing Careers in Rural Areas

This project intends to increase students' interest and success in careers in manufacturing and technology. The project's importance is amplified by its location, a highly rural area of the Midwest. The project will invigorate the curriculum with hands-on examples of how mathematics is applicable in the workplace; collaborate with area industry to start internships and microcredentials to qualify students for hard-to-fill jobs; and spark future interest in STEM studies through outreach to K-12 schools via a mobile fabrication laboratory that travels to remote areas. The microcredentials will include certifications in Precision Measurement, Multimeter Usage, Torque Application, and Tool Identification. These industry-aligned credentials will validate essential technical competencies, enhance employability, and provide employers with confidence that students possess foundational manufacturing and maintenance skills. Results of the project will be shared in digital, industry-specific, and academic venues. The project's goals are to (1) increase participation in technological careers through internships and microcredentials by partnering with regional industries; (2) increase students' interest and success in technological careers by embedding practical applications in required mathematics courses at the community college level; and (3) increase the interest of rural youth in technological careers through interactive learning in a mobile fabrication lab. This project will help boost the employment of technicians in more than a dozen Midwestern counties where industry seeks to hire more qualified workers. The project will enhance understanding of how to mitigate challenges that prevent rural students from pursuing or succeeding in STEM and technical programs; will investigate best practices for developing internship and microcredential opportunities in collaboration with industry; and will explore strategies for exciting students to pursue STEM-related coursework. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program, which focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. 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.