2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Engagement in Practice: A Road Map for Academia and Non-Profit Collaboration

Presented at College Industry Partnerships Division (CIP) Technical Session 2

Understanding collaboration strategies among university researchers, non-profits, and industry organizations is crucial for developing robust research networks that will contribute towards the highest level of quality within research projects. This paper presents the approach of how a university team (professor and graduate students) collaborated with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) to conduct a longitudinal analysis of a summer engineering program funded through an Early CAREER faculty award from the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Education Broadening Participation (BPE) program. According to the literature, there is a great need for longitudinal analysis of STEM outreach programs, especially informal ones, and support students from historically excluded backgrounds. This paper contributes to the academia-non- profit partnership literature within the context of longitudinal studies by mapping out the strategies practiced, including ethical and equitable collaborating and networking with professionals from academia, non-profit, industry, and other higher-education-based institutions during the early phases of our study. We applied concepts from design thinking, systems thinking, community engagement, and collaboration ethics while focusing on the collaborative element in those concepts. We describe the team engagement, dynamics, characteristics, and methods for playing to each team member's strengths. Additionally, we share the challenges and constraints faced by the team during years 1 and 2 of the project and the changes implemented as a result. The overall results were assessed regarding team performance and progress toward the project. Results also include insight into team organization and structure and the team's interdisciplinary and multifaceted skillset. Best practices, successes, and areas of opportunity for leveraging multistakeholder collaborations were essential to our project. Our aim is to document our process as a road map for other university researchers who wish to collaborate with industry and non-profit organizations.

Authors

Kerrie Danielle Hooper Florida International University [biography]

Kerrie Hooper is currently an Engineering and Computing Education Ph.D. student at Florida International University. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Guyana in 2019 and then worked for two years in the industry as a Data Analyst & Systems Administrator, before pursuing her doctoral degree. Her research interests are in AI ethics, responsible technology in education, women’s careers in computing, and arts-based approach to STEM education.
Dr. Trina L. Fletcher http://orcid.org/https://0000-0002-1765-5957 Florida International University [biography]

Dr. Trina Fletcher is an Assistant Professor of Engineering and Computing Education at Florida International University and the founder of m3i Journey, a start-up focused on research-based, personalized, holistic, innovative, relevant, and engaging (PHIRE) financial literacy education. She serves as the Director of the READi Lab (readilab.com) where her research portfolio consists of equity, access, and inclusion within education for historically excluded individuals, with a particular focus on women in engineering and computing and STEM education at HBCUs. Additionally, Dr. Fletcher is researching economic equity, and the impact of finances on students' success and academic persistence. She is a 2022 recipient of the NSF Early CAREER award and has received several awards at the institutional and national levels. Prior to academia, Dr. Fletcher served as the Director of Pre-college for the National Society of Black Engineers and worked for two Fortune 500 companies. You can follow Dr. Fletcher on Twitter @trinalfletcher and LinkedIn.
Edward Collins National Society of Black Engineers [biography]

Edward Collins serves as Director, Programs and Research for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). He has experience and research interests in student learning and assessment, and college student choice. Edward obtained his doctoral from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, master’s from the University of New Orleans, and bachelor’s from Louisiana State University.
Dr. Rochelle L Williams Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity [biography]

Rochelle L. Williams, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity and the Adjunct Director of Research for the National Society of Black Engineers. She is a former Chair of the MIND Division and ASEE Projects Board.
Ahlam Alharbi Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University

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Academia-Industry Connections
Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology
engineering
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