Improving Communication Skills in Engineering
2025 Grantees
University of Washington-$24,975
A New Initiative for Enhancing Communication Skills: A Collaborative Teaching model between Four-year Engineering Programs and Two-year Technical Institutions
Creation of an effective template for a collaborative teaching model between a four-year college and nearby community colleges, benefiting a diverse engineering/engineering technology student population. The initiative proposed in this study will serve as an innovative framework for strengthening engineering communication skills through collaborative efforts, ultimately driving curriculum innovation in both institution types.
Old Dominion University Research Foundation- $25,000
AI-Driven Extended Reality (XR) Communication Training for Engineering Students
This project integrates AI-driven Extended Reality (XR) training into engineering courses to enhance students' verbal, written, and visual communication skills. Using AI-powered speech analysis and VR platforms, students will engage in immersive simulations that develop technical articulation, teamwork, and professional presentation skills. Structured assessments and faculty training ensure measurable impact, scalability, and long-term adoption in engineering education.
2024 Grantees
Corporación Universitaria Minuto De Dios-Uniminuto- $21,808
Strengthening Communication, Media Literacy, and Collaboration Skills for Engineering Students by Incorporating Mobile and Project-Based Learning Curriculum
Corporación Universitaria Minuto De Dios-Uniminuto incorporates mobile and project-based learning in engineering educational settings to develop and foster communication, media literacy, and collaboration skills in the students. This project will leverage a previously created mobile learning platform as a learning tool to develop the mentioned skills. Through leveraging project-based learning, this project will address the lack of meaningful methodologies with mobile learning in the engineering curricula.
American Society for Engineering Education-$24,988
Global Communication Competency in Engineering - Enhancing Communication Skills in Engineering for Global Corporate Success
The "Global Communication Competency in Engineering" project is an engineering education project designed to enhance undergraduate engineering students' global communication and information use skills. Students receive online training modules that address critical competencies, such as cross-cultural understanding, active listening, clear and confident speaking, and empathy. Engineering faculty will also receive professional development workshops at international conferences.
Cornell University, College of Engineering- $11,157
Integrating GenAI into engineering Communication Courses: A Genre-based Rhetorical Approach for Critical and Ethical Instruction
Engineering students' communication, collaboration, problem-solving skills, and GenAI literacy will be enhanced by integrating GenAI into engineering communication courses. Through a genre-based approach and team-based learning, students will craft effective prompts, deepening their understanding of GenAI tools. They'll test various tools, identify societal and ethical issues, and develop strategies to address them. This will empower students to responsibly develop AI technology in future workplaces.
University of Louisville Research Foundation- $25,000
Modeling and Analysis of Interpersonal Communication in Collaborative Engineering Teams for Virtual Reality Manufacturing Systems
Team communication is a cornerstone in engineering practice and enhancing collaboration within VR teams directly addresses ABET's criteria for team communication skills. This project aims to characterize and quantify interpersonal communication in virtual reality (VR) engineering teams, using both qualitative and quantitative analyses to provide comprehensive insights into the nature of communication within VR teams and guidance for optimizing team collaborative efforts.
Women in Engineering
2025 Grantees
Grand Canyon University- $14,700
Design, Build, Inspire: Girls in Engineering
The "Design, Build, Inspire: Girls in Engineering" initiative is designed to introduce middle school girls from a Phoenix Title I school district to engineering through an immersive and engaging summer camp experience at Grand Canyon University. By providing early exposure to engineering principles, hands-on activities, and mentorship from elementary school teachers, this program seeks to spark curiosity, build confidence, and lay the foundation for future success in STEM fields.
Rutgers University Foundation- $18,000
The Academy at Rutgers for Girls in Engineering and Technology (TARGET)
The Academy at Rutgers for Girls in Engineering and Technology (TARGET) is an intensive summer program that serves students from 6th to 11th grades through age-specific, one-week sessions. The program immerses them in engineering innovation under the guidance of dedicated engineering student mentors, faculty, and local industry partners. For older high school students, the experience provides hands-on research projects that offer a taste of life as an engineer.
2024 Grantees
University of Arizona Foundation-$14,934
Incorporating Electrical & Computer Engineering Curriculum into UArizona's Girls Who Code Club
This project will introduce and formalize an adjacent curriculum track explicitly focused on electrical and computer engineering within UA-WISE's existing Girls Who Code Club infrastructure. Combining software and hardware skill development together through mentored coding, circuitry, and robotics instruction will help increase young girls' interest, access, and motivation to pursue engineering career paths.
The Engineering Society of Detroit - $25,000
Girls in Engineering Academy
The Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) developed the Girls in Engineering Academy in response to the urgent need to initiate programs that would increase the number of girls, particularly underrepresented minorities, in engineering & STEM from Detroit, Michigan. GEA is a year-long, four-week, project-based, summer experience, coupled with an Academic Year (eight months) component. The overarching objective is to academically prepare middle school girls for high school and beyond.
University of North Florida Coggin College of Business-$14,992
Engaging Middle School Girls in Extracurricular Activities Aimed to Enhance Participation of Underrepresented Women in Construction Industry
Accessible career opportunities within a robust education system contribute significantly to increased interest and achievement in Engineering. But those from underrepresented groups do not have sufficient familiarity with social and educational systems. This proposal plans to craft a dynamic engineering intervention program aimed at enhancing educational experiences of women, showcasing female role models in engineering, with the goal of promoting gender equality within Construction.
The Trustees of the Stevens Institute of Technology- $14,560
Bridging Brilliance: Strengthening STEM Pathways for Girls from Hillside to Hoboken
This Stevens Institute of Technology and Hillside Innovation Academy work together on this initiative, ultimately strengthening the potential for long-term impact upon the career paths of participants. Stevens and HIA will pilot a capstone project experience for 8th graders designed to cultivate interest in engineering for middle school girls and increase the number of girls and students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups who pursue this career track.
The Corporation of Mercer University-$24,990
S.W.E.E.T.: Expansion of a SWE-Led Middle-School Outreach Program to Promote the Role of Women in SMET
This project aims to expand the SWE-led middle-school outreach program developed by the PI to promote the role of women in SMET by exposing workshop participants to the exciting and meaningful career possibilities in engineering. SWEET is a series of outreach workshops that include innovative, hands-on activities for middle school-aged girls. This will help expose workshop participants to engineering from the perspectives of engineering faculty, current engineering students, and women in the industry.
Research Foundation for the State University of New York- $11,680
Girls Exploring Engineering! Sparking Interest in Engineering Careers for Middle School Girls in Northern New York through Makerspace Activities
SUNY Canton's Girls Exploring Engineering Program will be an exciting one-day learning event that will bring middle school girls to the university campus to participate in engineering and technology maker space activities. College faculty and female college student assistants will lead these activities. This program will target 250 public school girls between 10 - 15 and encourage them to pursue careers in engineering and technology.
Wayne State University- $25,000
Develop and Evaluate the 'SHE BUILDS (Summer Hands-on Experiential Learning: Building Understanding in Infrastructure, Leadership, Design, and Safety)' Summer Camp to Increase Detroit Middle School Girl Students' Engineering Career Interests
Funding is dedicated to develop and evaluate the 'SHE BUILDS (Summer Hands-on Experiential Learning: Building Understanding in Infrastructure, Leadership, Design, and Safety)' summer camp to increase Middle School Girl Students' Engineering Career Interests. The 'SHE BUILDS' summer camp is designed to counteract these trends by providing middle school girls with a hands-on, experiential learning environment that emphasizes the excitement, creativity, and social impact of engineering.