NSF National Research Traineeship (NRT): New NSF solicitation and Lehigh Idea Exchange

NSF’s National Research Traineeship (NRT) program, now in its second year, supports development of new, evidence-based approaches to graduate training. Through separate Traineeship and Innovative Graduate Education tracks, the program supports both development of comprehensive training programs in high-priority interdisciplinary research areas, and piloting of potentially transformative approaches to graduate education whether disciplinary or interdisciplinary.

 From the NSF solicitation:

The Traineeship Track is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary research areas, through the use of a comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based, aligned with changing workforce and research needs, and scalable. For this solicitation the Traineeship Track has one priority interdisciplinary research theme — Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (DESE); proposals are encouraged also on any non-DESE interdisciplinary research theme that is a national priority. The IGE Track is dedicated solely to piloting, testing, and evaluating novel, innovative, and potentially transformative approaches to graduate education, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary, to generate the knowledge required for their customization, implementation, and broader adoption. Whereas the Traineeship Track promotes building on the current knowledge base to more effectively train STEM graduate students, the IGE Track supports test-bed projects with high potential to enrich, improve, and extend the knowledge base with attention to transferability and innovation. For both tracks, strategic collaborations with the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, national laboratories, field stations, teaching and learning centers, museums, and academic partners are encouraged.

Two submission windows have been provided (March 25 and December 22 for LOIs), with two proposals per institution in the Traineeship Track and one per institution in the IGE Track on each cycle.

As with other limited submission opportunities for which there is wide interest, we’ll hold Idea Exchanges, on February 20 and 24, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on both days (lunch provided). Please click here to express interest and indicate your availability. Please direct questions to Sujata Jagota, suj208@lehigh.edu.

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