US EDA selects 11 recipients for STEM Talent Challenge

Washington DC - ​The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) recently announced the 11 recipients of the 2023 STEM Talent Challenge. The challenge supports programs to train science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) talent and fuel regional innovation economies across the nation. The $4.5 million competition provides up to $500,000 in funding for programs that complement their region’s innovation economy, create pathways to good-paying STEM careers, and build talent pipelines for businesses to fill in-demand jobs in emerging and transformative sectors.

The 11 awardees, selected from a pool of 90 applicants, will leverage an additional $4.7 million in matching funds from a variety of private and public sector sources. The grantees’ projects support work-and-learn programs to increase America’s STEM-capable workforce in sectors such as aerospace, biomanufacturing, cybersecurity, data science, geospatial, artificial intelligence, information technology, and advanced manufacturing.
The STEM Talent Challenge grant recipients are:
Austin Community College District (Austin, Texas
Project: STARS Training Program (Semiconductor Technician Advanced Rapid Start)
Grant Amount: $364,548


Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, Ohio)
Project: Advancing Regional Talent in Smart Technology Enabled Manufacturing
Grant Amount: $332,828


CodePath (Atlanta, Georgia)
Project: Pathway to Tech in Atlanta
Grant Amount: $500,000


Electrical Training Institute (San Diego, California)
Project: Resilience in a STEM Economy (RISE) Program
Grant Amount: $496,693


Goodwill of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas (Kansas City, Missouri)
Project: Bridge to Technology and Careers in Greater Kansas City
Grant Amount: $499,196


Liberty Science Center (Jersey City, New Jersey)
Project: High Schools of the Future
Grant Amount: $500,000


Middlesex Community College (Lowell, Massachusetts)
Project: Industry-Integrated Computer Aided Design Expansion Program
Grant Amount: $409,410


St. Petersburg College (St. Petersburg, Florida)
Project: Geospatial/Artificial Intelligence (AI) STEM Training Program (GSTP)
Grant Amount: $323,832


South Texas College (McAllen, Texas)
Project: STEM Registered Apprenticeship Program
Grant Amount: $283,262


University of Arkansas System (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
Project: BioAR Train Biomanufacturing Workforce Initiative (BTBWI)
Grant Amount: $493,521


Washington State University (Pullman, Washington)
Project: Washington's High-Demand Advanced Civil Engineering Workforce Development
Grant Amount: $252,933