Research to Reality: Connecting Discovery, Industry, and Innovation to Accelerate Workforce Readiness

This project aims to serve the national interest by strengthening understanding of how undergraduate STEM education can better prepare students for careers in the rapidly expanding biotechnology and life sciences workforce. Advances in biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and data-driven research are transforming workforce expectations, creating opportunities for educational models that better connect research training with industry practice. The significance of this work lies in its potential to strengthen workforce readiness, strengthen industry-academic partnerships, and support the continued growth and competitiveness of the U.S. bioeconomy. This Level 1 Engaged Student Learning project plans to leverage Florida Atlantic University’s academic, industry, and entrepreneurship partnerships to connect scientific discovery, innovation, and workforce preparation while generating broadly transferable practices that can inform workforce-focused STEM education nationwide. The goals and scope of this project are to advance understanding of how industry-informed undergraduate research experiences, entrepreneurship training, and structured early-engagement supports influence workforce readiness and participation in research and career pathways. The project plans to investigate three areas: (1) how academic–industry partnerships shape research training experiences; (2) how entrepreneurship and innovation education influence students’ applied reasoning career confidence, and ability to translate scientific ideas into practical solutions; and (3) how placement support, research exposure, and transfer-focused programming affect student integration into research and workforce opportunities. Using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods, the project plans to study the effectiveness of these approaches and to identify transferable design principles and conditions under which workforce-aligned STEM learning is strengthened. Results will be disseminated through publications, presentations, industry networks, and open-access educational resources. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. 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.