If you are interested in submitting a NSF 15-542 National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) Program proposal, send an abstract no more than three pages in length to esoto2@iit.edu by the internal deadline of Monday, November 2, 2015 at noon. Follow IIT’s guidelines for internal competitions available here.

•Institutional Limit: Three
Limit on number of proposals per organization: Two for the Traineeship Track, one for the Innovations in Graduate Education Track
Each institution may submit two Traineeship Track proposals and one Innovations in Graduate Education Track proposal. If an institution submits only one Traineeship Track proposal, it can be on either Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (DESE) or another theme. If an institution submits two Traineeship Track proposals, at least one must be a DESE proposal. In either case (DESE or non-DESE), the traineeship theme of a Traineeship Track proposal must be interdisciplinary.
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or Co-PI: One
An individual may serve as Lead Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI on only one proposal submitted to the NRT program.
•Letter of Intent Due: Tuesday, December 22, 2015
•INTERNAL DEADLINE: Monday, November 2, 2015 at noon
•Full Proposal Deadline Date: Friday, February 22, 2016

Synopsis of Program:

The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, potentially transformative, and scalable models for STEM graduate education training. The NRT program seeks proposals that ensure that graduate students in research-based master’s and doctoral degree programs develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers. The NRT program includes two tracks: the Traineeship Track and the Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) Track. The Traineeship Track is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary research areas, through the use of a comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based, aligned with changing workforce and research needs, and scalable. For this solicitation the Traineeship Track has one priority interdisciplinary research theme — Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (DESE); proposals are encouraged also on any non-DESE interdisciplinary research theme that is a national priority. The IGE Track is dedicated solely to piloting, testing, and evaluating novel, innovative, and potentially transformative approaches to graduate education, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary, to generate the knowledge required for their customization, implementation, and broader adoption. Whereas the Traineeship Track promotes building on the current knowledge base to more effectively train STEM graduate students, the IGE Track supports test-bed projects with high potential to enrich, improve, and extend the knowledge base with attention to transferability and innovation. For both tracks, strategic collaborations with the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, national laboratories, field stations, teaching and learning centers, museums, and academic partners are encouraged.
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Per IIT policy, all grant applications (federal and non-federal) must be reviewed, signed and submitted by the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs regardless of the amount of the request. Contact osrp@iit.edu or call at 312.567.3035 for more information on submitting a proposal.