Conference: Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education for the AI-Driven Workforce

This project aims to serve the national interest by aligning higher education STEM education with the evolving demands of artificial intelligence (AI) in the STEM workforce. Specifically, this conference will advance understanding of what is needed to educate a highly skilled workforce capable of driving national technological innovation and economic growth. This Institutional and Community Transformation conference project addresses the significance and importance of adapting undergraduate STEM education to keep pace with rapid artificial intelligence advancements and shifting workforce demands. The project plans to convene a national community of researchers, university leaders, educators, and industry partners for the Transforming Institutions conference to foster systemic educational reform. The initiative's distinguishing aspect involves directly integrating stakeholders tracking AI workforce needs with higher education change agents, researchers and educational developers who traditionally operate independently. By facilitating cross-institutional collaboration with integrated perspectives from industry, the project seeks to advance institutional adaptation of AI tools for STEM innovation, updated STEM AI workforce-ready curricula and the accelerated adoption of evidence-based, teaching practices, which may lead to greater interest in STEM and higher student retention and graduation rates. Ultimately, this effort serves the U.S. national interest by strengthening the workforce pipeline to support long-term technological competitiveness. Project goals will be accomplished by executing a 2.5-day national meeting for 250–300 participants across five thematic areas: AI-driven change theories, evidence-based pedagogy, organizational leadership, incentive alignment, and cross-sector partnerships. The methodology utilizes a structured, interactive format. The creation of an enduring record of the conference, including synthesis of cross-cutting challenges and organizational alignment as well as a web-based archive of conference materials will allow impact beyond the meeting participants. Dissemination will include open-access proceedings and resource collections on the ASCN website. By bridging member networks such as ASCN, APLU NSEC, ADSA, and UERU, the project plans to investigate conditions under which cross-organizational coalitions successfully translate educational research into sustained institutional change. Additionally, by bringing together educational networks and industry stakeholders, the project will strengthen the U.S. STEM talent pipeline to maintain long-term global competitiveness. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Institutional and Community Transformation track, the program supports efforts to transform and improve STEM education across institutions of higher education and disciplinary communities. 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.