View all text of Part B [§ 18991 - § 18999]
§ 18997. Microelectronics workforce development activities
(a) Creating helpful initiatives to produce personnel in needed growth industries
(1) In general
(2) Purposes
(3) Uses of funds
Awards made under this section shall be used to support activities, such as—
(A) development of industry-oriented curricula and teaching modules for topics relevant to microelectronics, including those that provide meaningful hands-on learning experiences;
(B) dissemination of materials developed in subparagraph (A), including through the creation and maintenance of a publicly-accessible database and online portal;
(C) development and implementation of training, research, and professional development programs for teachers, including innovative pre-service and in-service programs, in microelectronics and related fields;
(D) support for learning activities and experiences that provide physical, simulated, or remote access to training facilities and industry-standard processes and tools, including equipment and software for the design, development, manufacturing, and testing of microelectronics;
(E) increasing the integration of microelectronics span into STEM curricula at all education levels;
(F) Growing 1
1 So in original. Probably should not be capitalized.
academic research capacity in microelectronics by incentivizing the hiring of faculty in fields critical to microelectronics;(G) support for innovative industry pathway programs that connect high school, vocational, military, college, and graduate programs; and
(H) providing informal hands-on microelectronics learning opportunities for PreK-12 students in different learning environments, including competitions.
(4) Advanced microelectronics traineeships
(A) In general
(B) Use of funds
Institutions of higher education or non-profit organizations (or consortia of such institutions and organizations) shall use award funds provided under subparagraph (A) for the purposes of—
(i) paying tuition and fees, and providing stipends, for students receiving traineeships who are citizens, nationals, or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence;
(ii) facilitating opportunities for scientific internship programs for students receiving traineeships in microelectronics at private industry, nonprofit research institutions, or Federal laboratories; and
(iii) such other costs associated with the administration of the program.
(5) Microelectronics skilled technical workforce programs
(6) Microelectronics research experiences through existing programs
The Director shall seek to increase opportunities for microelectronics research for students and trainees at all levels by encouraging proposals in microelectronics through existing programs including—
(A) research experiences for undergraduates pursuant to section 1862p–6 of this title;
(B) postdoctoral fellowship programs established pursuant to section 1862p–11 of this title;
(C) graduate fellowships established pursuant to section 1869 of this title;
(D) informal STEM education programs established pursuant to section 1862q of this title;
(E) the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program established pursuant to section 1862n–1 of this title;
(F) major research instrumentation programs established pursuant to section 1862o–14 of this title; and
(G) low-income 2
2 So in original. Probably should be preceded by “the”.
scholarship program established pursuant to section 1869c of this title.(7) Industry partnerships
(8) Interagency coordination
(b) National Network for Microelectronics Education
(1) In general
(2) Activities
Awards made under this subsection shall be used for the following:
(A) To conduct training and education activities funded by awards under paragraph (1) and in coordination with the Network Coordination Hub established in paragraph (3), including curricula design, development, dissemination, and assessment, and the sharing of information and best practices across the network of awardees.
(B) To develop regional partnerships among associate-degree-granting colleges, bachelor-degree-granting institutions, workforce development programs, labor organizations, and industry to create a diverse national technical workforce trained in microelectronics and ensure education and training is meeting the evolving needs of industry.
(C) To develop local workforce pipelines that align with capacity investments made by industry and the Federal government, including vocational and high school training programs, community college degrees and certificates, veteran post service opportunities, and mentoring.
(D) To facilitate partnerships with employers, employer consortia or other private sector organizations that offer apprenticeships, internships, or applied learning experiences in the field of microelectronics.
(E) To develop shared infrastructure available to institutions of higher education, two-year colleges, and private organizations to enable experiential learning activities and provide physical or digital access to training facilities and industry-standard tools and processes.
(F) To create and disseminate public outreach to support awareness of microelectronics education and career opportunities, including through outreach to PreK–12 schools and STEM-related organizations.
(G) To collaborate and coordinate with industry and existing public and private organizations conducting microelectronics education and workforce development activities, as practicable.
(3) Network coordination hub
(4) Incentivizing participation
(5) Partnerships
(6) Outreach
(7) Coordination across foundation programs
(8) Interagency coordination
(Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title III, § 10318, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1532.)