The Department of Defense has issued five cooperative agreement awards for academic organizations to elevate science, technology, engineering and math education at two-year institutions and community colleges.
Five consortia could receive up to $11 million each over a six-year period as part of the National Defense Education Program, DOD said Thursday.
DOD intends to grant $5 million to cover the base performance period of three years and may exercise options valued at $2 million annually over three years.
Awardees will aim to produce more certified graduates of training programs focused on DOD-critical technology areas and transition more 2YI/CC programs to four-year college degrees in STEM.
The cooperative agreement is giving special attention to veterans, their spouses and underserved and underrepresented populations, DOD noted.
"Two-year institutions and community colleges play a key role in educating, training, and transitioning students onto a path to a STEM career," said Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.
Shyu, a two-time recipient of the Wash100 Award, added that these education investments are instrumental in "broadening the defense innovation base."
The winning consortia are:
- Denver Metro Engineering Consortium
- Ohio TechNet Defense Industrial Base STEM Consortium
- Pennsylvania-wide Community College Consortium for Enhancing STEM and Cybersecurity Education
- The Military City USA Consortium
- Inclusive Engineering Consortium 2to4
