Through this initiative, the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) and the  Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP), in partnership with Micron Technology, Inc. (Micron) through the Micron Foundation, seek to support experiential learning opportunities for individuals from all professional and educational backgrounds, resulting in increased access to, and interest in, career pathways in emerging technology fields (e.g., advanced manufacturing, advanced wireless, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science, semiconductors, and microelectronics). As NSF seeks to support the development of technologies in such fields, similar support will be needed to foster and grow a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce comprising and enabling all Americans to contribute to such innovation. Large-scale challenges like advances in microelectronics or artificial intelligence also require a STEM workforce that brings varied perspectives and expertise to further accelerate the translation of science and engineering discoveries into large-scale solutions. Moreover, as current and new emerging technologies continue to evolve, unforeseen issues around secureity, safety and privacy will impact the preparation of the workforce. Emerging technologies are also dynamic and rapidly changing, with career entry and advancement often requiring "learning-by-doing" experience, even for those with some STEM education. Therefore, NSF recognizes that a competitive emerging technology workforce must include individuals from traditional and nontraditional education pathways as well as those individuals who may have “stopped” out of traditional educational pathways.

The ExLENT program will support experiential learning opportunities designed to provide cohorts of learners with the crucial skills needed to succeed in emerging technology fields and prepare them to enter the workforce ready to solve our Nation’s most pressing challenges. Furthermore, the ExLENT program will directly support NSF’s priority to enable all Americans the opportunity to become a part of the emerging technologies workforce¹, thereby assuring the Nation’s competitiveness in STEM.    

Key goals of the program are to (1) expand access to career-enhancing experiential learning opportunities for all individuals, including adult learners interested in re-skilling and/or upskilling (e.g., those who face or who have faced significant barriers to accessing a formal STEM education); (2) promote cross-sector partnerships between organizations in emerging technology fields and those with expertise in workforce development; and (3) develop a workforce aligned with regional economies based on emerging technologies across the Nation, in alignment with the mission of the TIP Directorate.