UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Student innovation competitions, exhibitions and training programs are a crucial part of the university environment because they provide students with valuable experience that isn’t always achieved in the classroom. Researchers from Penn State Berks and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT) recently received a $400,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) for a project focused on advancing equity among underrepresented students in STEM-related innovation competitions and programs.
Led by Sadan Kulturel-Konak, professor of management information systems and director of the Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) Center at Penn State Berks, the project aims to uncover the structural, systemic and social barriers and their impact on students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Student innovation competitions and programs are central to college-level innovation and entrepreneurship-fostering students’ meaningful STEM-based collegiate experiences, according to the researchers.. They enhance student skill development, career readiness and social connections, but many students choose not to engage in them.
“Since these students might come from minority backgrounds, have disabilities or face socioeconomic challenges, it often prevents them from fully participating in these opportunities,” Kulturel-Konak said.
Grown out of a seed funding award from the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) in 2021, Kulturel-Konak and her team were able to conduct preliminary research and provide a theoretical foundation for this work before seeking funding from NSF. Abdullah Konak, distinguished professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State Berks; Ada Leung, associate professor of marketing at Penn State Berks; Lauren Davis, professor of industrial and systems engineering at NCAT; and Steven Jiang, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering at NCAT, are also investigators on the project.
The collaboration between Penn State and NCAT has three main goals: understanding what specific barriers underrepresented students face when trying to join these programs; developing a theory to explain how these barriers impact students’ choices and program participation; and testin new ways to reduce these barriers and increase participation through field experiments.
“It is pleasing to see this collaboration between Penn State and NCAT move forward," Davis said. "Our team is excited to deepen our understanding of the barriers underrepresented students face and explore innovative strategies to increase their participation in innovation competitions and programs."
The researchers said they also plan to engage with different stakeholders and perspectives through a large project advisory board comprising academics and industry partners.
“The current body of work on this topic lacks theory-driven research that investigates the individual, social and institutional barriers for various student groups to participate in these programs,” Kulturel-Konak said. “We hope using semi-structured interviews will shed light on how and why students make decisions to participate in these programs and what the barriers to participation may be.”
SSRI enables and facilitates research that addresses critical human and social challenges at the local, national and international levels. The institute supports over 60 co-funded faculty positioned within nine colleges and over 500 faculty across nine campuses via its affiliate program and various funding mechanisms.
The Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development Center (CEED) Center was established in the fall of 2011 as part of the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. The mission of the Flemming CEED Center is to inspire entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking in the Penn State Berks community. The Flemming CEED Center fosters economic growth and development in the Greater Reading area through technology-based solutions, human capital development, and enterprise creation. The Flemming CEED Center provides student entrepreneurs with an incubator in which to develop their startup ideas.