Sides Receives NSF Grant to Create Innovative Approach to STEM Grad Studies

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Cynthia Sides

The National Science Foundation recently awarded $4.8 million to 10 new projects that will pilot innovative approaches in graduate education, including $499,000 to Cynthia Sides, director of the University of Arkansas' Office of Industry Engagement.

The awards, part of the NSF Innovations in Graduate Education Program, support projects that pilot, test and validate innovative and potentially transformative ways to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics — the STEM fields.

Sides' project will create a new graduate education training cycle, from recruitment of students to successful graduation and employment, through the incorporation of curricular and co-curricular activities and with significant input from stakeholders in education, government, industry, non-profits, and communities. 

"These IGE projects address important challenges in graduate education: diversity, career pathways and transferrable skillsets," said Jim Lewis, NSF acting assistant director for Education and Human Resources. "Learning more about what constitutes effective graduate education will enable us to prepare a STEM-capable workforce that can meet the evolving demands of a fast-paced, data-intensive, globally networked world."