Growth Sector is pleased to announce the award of a grant from the Department of Defense's National Defense Education Program (NDEP). Growth Sector will serve as the Backbone Organization on the grant being led by Colorado University Boulder - the existing Midwest Hub for the National STEM Core Network.
The goal of the $10.9 million project is to create defined engineering pathways for underrepresented students via a consortium of community colleges, industry partners, and four-year institutions in the Denver-Metro area. It is a six year grant (assuming high performance), and Phase 1 partners include CU Denver, Community College of Aurora and Community College of Denver. Year 1 is a planning year for CCD. During Phase 2 (years 4-6), the project will add in Arapahoe, Front Range, and Red Rocks Community Colleges.
Growth Sector will work with educational institution partners to design pre-college bridge programs, STEM Core cohorts, and post-STEM Core research internships on-site at 4-year university partners. Additionally, Growth Sector will work with Lockheed Martin and other defense enterprise employers to develop paid internships for STEM Core completers.
The project is expected to have a significant impact on underrepresented students’ BS degree attainment and subsequent entry into the STEM workforce in Colorado.