PR-LSAMP activities, particularly those implemented in Phase II and III were designed to better prepare academically PR-LSAMP students who are interested in pursuing graduate studies. Experience has taught us that in order to be successful in increasing the number of STEM students that continue graduate studies, a nurturing environment must be provided for them to make a smooth transition to graduate programs and have the skills that will allow them to adjust to the demands of graduate programs. Emphasis will placed in strengthening communication skills in STEM students so they can effectively communicate research findings both orally and written.

The target of this activity will be STEM students at UPR-Rio Piedras and UPR-Mayaguez, the two alliance institutions with graduate programs. Sixty freshman STEM students will be selected (30 from UPR-Rio Piedras and 30 from UPR-Mayaguez) to participate in the following 10 core skill workshops and the 17 seminars on frontier science and engineering topics to be offered at each institution during the 5-year grant period. This core of students will be tracked for progress as they move through the undergraduate pipeline, from entrance to exit.

During the Summer of Year 1, visits to the institutions’ different research laboratories will be arranged to introduce the PR-LSAMP students to the researchers and their research interests. This will help students to better define their areas of research interest and be ready to participate in the PR-LSAMP sponsored undergraduate research experiences in Year 2 or in any of the other on-going research programs at their institution.
 

In addition to the core skill workshops (because of the importance of the skill to be developed, some workshops will be offered more than once, each time with a different emphasis), PR-LSAMP will offer each year a series of seminars on frontier topics in science and engineering to enhance the students’ academic preparation, for a total of 8 workshops and seminars per year. The seminars on frontiers topics in science and engineering will be open to STEM students from all the PR-LSAMP alliance institutions. Since UPR-Rio Piedras and UPR-Mayaguez are located on the eastern and western ends of the island, and since the other PR-LSAMP institutions are within easy driving distance of each institution, students at those institutions will be able to attend without little or no difficulty. Moreover, PR-LSAMP institutions will provide transportation arrangements for the group of students wishing to attend each seminar.

All science and engineering seminars will be planned in collaboration with other NSF-funded projects coordinated by the Resource Center, such as the Puerto Rico Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (PR-AGEP) and the PR-Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (PR-EPSCoR) as well as with the NASA-funded Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortium (PR-SGC), to make optimal use of fiscal and human resources and provide for synergy of efforts.