National Science Foundation’s Community College Innovation Challenge

Written by Nathan Smith on December 18, 2014. Posted in STEM and STEAM.

The National Science Foundation’s Community College Innovation Challenge is underway and seeking teams to propose innovative science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, -based solutions for real-world problems. Teams must comprise community college students, a faculty mentor and a community or industry partner.

Challenge entries consist of two components: a written entry and a video entry. Each team’s entry must address one of the five themes outlined by the National Science Foundation. This year’s themes are Big Data, Infrastructure Security, Sustainability, Broadening Participation in STEM and Improving STEM Education.

Finalist teams will be invited to attend an Innovation Boot Camp, a professional development workshop on innovation and entrepreneurship.

The entry submission deadline is Jan. 15, 2015.

For additional information about the challenge, visit http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/communitycollege/.

Questions about this challenge should be directed to InnovationChallenge@nsf.gov.

Nathan Smith

Nathan Smith is Director of Technology for the College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University. In that role, he also directs The Adele & Dale Young Education Technology Center (The YETC) located in room 170 of the Education Building on Utah State University's Logan campus. The YETC is a combination student openaccess computer facility, a K12 curriculum materials library, a NASA Educator Resource Center for Utah, and a technology training center. Nathan served eight years (20042012) on the Board of Directors for the Utah Coalition for Education Technology (UCET) He was reelected in 2014 to serve another two year term on the board. A former elementary school teacher, Nathan has taught students every age from young children to senior citizens. He has had the opportunity beginning in 2011 to train international high school teachers from all over the world about technology in education, through the U.S. State