spark-ND

The North Dakota Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (ND EPSCoR) and its partnering institutions have been approved for a National Science Foundation (NSF) E-CORE award for their Sustainable Programs Advancing Research and Knowledge across North Dakota (SPARK-ND) proposal. NSF has awarded the project for an anticipated total amount of $7,963,804 over four years.

 

SPARK-ND, funded by NSF under their EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems Research Infrastructure Improvement (E-CORE RII) program, aims to build a sustainable science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research and education ecosystem in North Dakota. Led by North Dakota State University (NDSU), ten colleges and universities in North Dakota will collaborate to expand STEM research capacity in the state, connect research communities, build STEM research literacy in rural populations, and strengthen the STEM community at the five Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) in North Dakota. 

 

Some of the planned activities for SPARK-ND include:  

• outreach to rural schools, including opportunities for high school and undergraduate students to participate in scientific research. 

• engagement with primarily undergraduate institutions and TCUs to recruit and retain STEM students. 

• development of multi-institutional research teams across the state using networking events, workshops, and funding opportunities. 

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Colleges and universities participating in SPARK-ND are: 

• Cankdeska Cikana Community College 

• Mayville State University  

• Minot State University 

• Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College 

• North Dakota State University 

• Sitting Bull College 

• Turtle Mountain College 

• United Tribes Technical College 

• University of North Dakota 

• Valley City State University