Computer science students get the opportunity to receive scholarships at the University of Texas El Paso. | utep.edu/newsfeed/2023/utep-receives-5m-nsf-grant-to-support-high-potential-computer-science-students.html
Computer science students get the opportunity to receive scholarships at the University of Texas El Paso. | utep.edu/newsfeed/2023/utep-receives-5m-nsf-grant-to-support-high-potential-computer-science-students.html
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $5 million grant to the University of Texas El Paso to help deserving computer science students with financial aid and opportunities for future professional growth.
According to a news release from UTEP, 26 students pursuing bachelor's degrees with an emphasis on data science or cybersecurity will receive partial scholarships as a result of the project as a part of the NSF's Scholarships for STEM (S-STEM) program.
El Paso Community College (EPCC) and the UTEP Computer Science Department also will be working together to finance scholarships for 15 EPCC students who start at EPCC and transfer to UTEP to finish their bachelor's degrees.
“One of the greatest things you can see is how the students start to become leaders,” said Diego Aguirre, co-principal investigator of the grant and assistant professor of computer science.
"This S-STEM program builds on years of NSF support in the Paso del Norte region," said College of Engineering Dean Kenith Meissner. "Moreover, the coordinated effort between UTEP and EPCC will help broaden the talent pool needed to address critical national needs in data science and cybersecurity. We are excited to be part of this collaboration that expands opportunities for highly motivated students in high-demand STEM areas."“Many of them come into the program with a desire to help others, Aguirre said. ''As they learn skills and start to move in this space, they start sharing that newfound knowledge with other people. The impact of the program is not just in the students who get the scholarships, it’s in the impact those students have wherever they go.”
The grant was also given to UTEP in 2016, and, typically, is not awarded to the same institution twice. However, Salamah Salamah, chair of the UTEP computer science department and the project’s principal investigator, understands why an exception has been made.
"The stature of UTEP and what we’re doing here in this department is something that can’t be ignored,” Salamah said in the release. “NSF understands the great things we’re doing.”
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