UNH’s EPSCoR program recieves NSF grant

University of New Hampshire -- September 18, 2013

New Hampshire Ecosystem Computing Challenge Receives $750,000 Award from National Science Foundation

To be competitive in the 21st century workplace, high school students today need to acquire strong computational skills and be able to connect and apply academic content to real-world challenges. The University of New Hampshire has been awarded a $750,000 five-year grant from the National Science Foundation EPSCoR program to develop a pilot project for students in the states Career and Technical Education (CTE) centers. The project, entitled The Ecosystem Computing Challenge: Partnership Model to Build Access to Relevant Computing Education for Underrepresented High School Students, (ECC) will be led by Mihaela Sabin, Associate Professor of Computer Science in the Computing Technology Program at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, the universitys urban campus, in partnership with UNH Cooperative Extension and the New Hampshire Department of Education. Students in the ECC project will be challenged to help monitor, map, and provide understanding of New Hampshires natural ecosystems. Using data produced by the NH EPSCoR Ecosystems & Society project, they will learn computational thinking and engage with more rigorous computing by developing their own mobile applications using App Inventor, a free and open source programming language and platform. They also will have opportunities to meet and learn from computing professionals about computing careers and the thriving high technology sector in the state. The ECC project will provide professional development and curriculum resources for 22 teachers at New Hampshires Career and Technology Education centers, and will engage more than 400 high school students, specifically those populations underrepresented in computing education. The majority of these students live in metropolitan areas with the largest minority groups and in rural communities with the highest poverty level in the state.

Read the full press release from UNH