Lloyd J. Austin III Secretary of Defence | Official website
The Department of Defense announced the award of the Defense Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Consortium (DSEC) Cooperative Agreement to the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and its consortium of over 25 regional and national partners. This initiative aims to provide STEM education and outreach programs nationwide, supporting the department's strategy to build a workforce equipped for 21st-century defense challenges.
The consortium will receive up to $190 million over ten years to implement diverse STEM programming. These partnerships are expected to deliver sustainable and scalable programs that offer hands-on learning experiences, allowing students to collaborate with leading scientists and engineers on advanced research and development projects.
"Outreach is incredibly important for the Defense Department, and we continue to seek out the best and brightest minds across the nation," said Dr. Aprille Ericsson, assistant secretary of defense for science and technology. "Our men and women in uniform depend on talent and expertise within our science and technology workforce to out-innovate our peer adversaries, and I consider development, recruitment, and retention of STEM talent to be one of my top priorities."
DSEC is part of the National Defense Education Program (NDEP), serving as a platform for DoD to partner with organizations that support effective activities for pre-K–12 students, educators, parents, as well as undergraduate students. Under this cooperative agreement, RTI will address five required DSEC Fundamental Elements with a team including American Institutes for Research, Left Bank Consulting, and Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM. These elements involve leveraging partnerships to amplify awareness of opportunities, evolving programming based on data evaluations, providing interconnected Pre-K–12 STEM education outreach, and engaging DoD scientists with students where feasible.
Headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, RTI will receive an initial award of up to $37 million over a two-year base period. There is potential for four additional two-year option periods worth between $37.5 million to $39 million each. Awards for other partner organizations will be announced in the coming months.
About DoDSTEM
Department of Defense Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (DoDSTEM) encompasses efforts in STEM talent development from various departments including Army, Navy, Air Force among others under NDEP. The mission is to inspire exceptional STEM talent through opportunities across Pre-K–20 grade levels to enrich DoD’s current and future workforce ready for evolving technological challenges.
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