Collaborative Research: CER: Training And Learning for Emerging New Technologies with AI (TALENT-AI)

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is leading to changes in the skills employers expect from college graduates. This raises questions about how well-positioned college administrators and instructors are to updated their curricula to help students meet these evolving needs. This project will study these questions in the context of software engineering jobs and computer science departments, which are large sectors of the economy and the university that are particularly affected because of the increasing ability of AI-based tools to perform common programming tasks. Through working with hiring managers, employees, faculty, and students, the research team will develop new curricula that align the needs of both industry and universities to develop high-quality educational experiences that enhance students’ competitiveness in the workforce. The goal of the award is to build industry and academic partnerships to establish an evidence-based set of recommendations, resources, and upskilling for undergraduate computing faculty and students around cultivating AI-related competencies. As a first step, the research team will conduct semi-structured interviews with current employees and hiring decision makers on the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required for new software engineers and developers. Then, the team will apply these findings to launch a career readiness training program for computing students from two institutions, as well as opportunities for these students to apply that training through internships. Based on the feedback of the interns and their industry mentors, the training approach and resources will be refined and then launched more widely with computing faculty and undergraduate students at institutions across the U.S. The team will work to disseminate the insights and materials developed through outreach activities including a virtual expert seminar series and a website centered on AI-related competency development and career preparation. The project advances technology workforce initiatives by strategically aligning industry employees, hiring decision-makers, computing faculty, and computing majors around shared expectations and the competencies essential for practical and professional success in an increasingly AI-driven society. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2551826 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Rebecca Williams | Institution: University of Maryland Baltimore County, BALTIMORE, MD | Award Amount: $462,092 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2551826 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2551826.html