Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus, received a $500,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Engineering Education and Centers (CFDA 47.041) awarded July 1, 2026, with completion targeted for June 30, 2031. This award supports comprehensive curricular and organizational transformation within the Department of Engineering Sciences and Materials through evidence-based redesign of three multi-section required courses serving all undergraduate engineering students. At the classroom level, the project delivers integrated active learning, writing-intensive, and problem/project-based instructional strategies, establishes peer-led collaborative study groups, and develops human-in-the-loop artificial intelligence (AI) models to provide timely formative feedback to students.

At the departmental level, the project produces a departmental teaching institute, communities of practice, and AI-informed dashboards for student performance monitoring to support faculty collaboration and sustain a culture of continuous co-development. The initiative also generates new institutional policies governing faculty workload, recognition, and promotion, with documented senior leadership commitment. The project produces an adaptive, data-informed organizational change model designed for adoption by peer institutions undertaking similar curricular modernization efforts. Expected outcomes include improved graduation rates, increased technical workforce entry, and development of graduates with enhanced capability to apply AI-informed engineering practices, contributing to a more technologically literate citizenry.