The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently launched its Community College Innovation Challenge. In this contest, NSF is challenging students enrolled in community colleges to propose innovative science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-based solutions to perplexing, real-world problems. There is a powerful incentive for teams: the ones submitting top ideas will receive professional coaching and cash prizes.
More than 40 percent of U.S. undergraduates are enrolled at community colleges. Groups underrepresented in STEM, as well as first-generation college students, make up a significant portion of students on community-college campuses. NSF-funded projects at community colleges support STEM students transferring to four-year colleges, as well as receiving education and training to become part of the high-tech workforce in fields as diverse as biotechnology, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing.
