Workforce Development

The Industry-University Cooperative Research Center program supports Science and technology workforce development by providing a pathway for students to gain the key skills they can leverage to access employment in the science and technology workforce.

This post will discuss how IUCRC identifies, mentors, and develops a diverse, highly skilled science and engineering workforce.

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IUCRC Supports a Pipeline from Student to Employee

In 2022, IUCRC supported 1,977 students and their applied science and technology projects. This included:

• 1,062 PhD students
• 526 Undergraduates
• 389 Masters Students

In 2022, 782 students graduated and 599 were hired. Of those hires, over one in four were hired by Center members they worked on projects while they were students.

IUCRC Trained 1,977 Students and directed work of 1,615 Researchers in FY2022

Between 2015 and 2022, IUCRC 5,475 Total Students Were Hired

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1. Over 70% of Students Identify as Male
2. About Half of Students have U.S. citizenship
3. IUCRC Faces Similar Challenges as STEM Workforce Development in the United States
4. IUCRC Funds the Majority of Students in its Program, 83% of Students Not Funded Had Participated 1 year or less

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Higher Education in Science and Engineering. Science and Engineering Indicators 2022

Policies to Broaden Participation in the Innovation Process

We surveyed student participants in the program to understand their experiences, opportunities, and areas for improvement in the program.*

Overall, we found that students remained very satisfied with their IUCRC participation. Students accessed center opportunities to learn, research, and collaborate while in school, and the program very positively impacted students’ understanding of industry and helped them obtain industry-relevant skills.

* For more information about our survey methods, please see ‘Want to Learn More?’ below.

1. A Majority of Students Remain Very Satisfied with their IUCRC Participation

We asked student how satisfied they were with the program, and between 2020 and 2022 approximately 60% were ‘very satisfied’ and another 30% were ‘very satisfied with their participation (see below).

In their own words, students wrote:

“Researching and working on my project helped give me industry ready experience that helped me find a job”

“Working on projects with many of the site directors has provided perspective on why what we are doing is important, and how we can make our research have the biggest impact that it possibly can – these are insights that I would not have been afforded otherwise”

2. Students Accessed Center Opportunities to Learn, Research, and Collaborate

We asked students whether they had access to, and whether they participated in key aspects of Center operations. These included access to research opportunities; to collaborate with industry, government, and other scientists; and whether they could attend Center meetings. We found students indicated very high access to research opportunities and they participated. Students less frequently attended or presented research at IAB meetings, though the opportunities were available.

3. The Program Very Positively Impacted Students’ Understanding of Industry, and Helped Them Obtain Industry-relevant Skills

IUCRCs also very positively impacted students understanding of the industry that they were associated with and helped them obtain industry-relevant skills. For example, 71% said the program had a ‘very positive impact’ on their understanding of how research applies to real world.

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Methods