The Gulf Research Program will develop and deploy education and capacity building programs to facilitate learning inside and outside of formal educational settings. These programs will require intentional focus on the diversity of the Gulf region population and dedicated inclusion of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority-Serving Institutions, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions, as well as community colleges and vocational schools in GRP program area work. From 2020 through 2024, this program area will focus on developing and refining educational programs that build necessary skills and advance progress towards the GRP’s other program areas, with the following specific goals and objectives:

Goal 5.0: Support the development of education and capacity building programs relevant to the GRP’s program areas.

• Objective 5.1: Explore ways to enhance existing or build new educational opportunities and programs for K-20, including K-12 formal and informal education, to prepare members of Gulf communities to be resilient to the changes they face now or will face in the next 25 years.
• Objective 5.2: Develop and promote opportunities, including internships and apprenticeships, for undergraduate students to understand and engage in research and experiences related to GRP program areas through a robust partnership program.
• Objective 5.3: Continue, strengthen, and develop fellowship programs for graduate and early-career professionals.

The GRP may support these types of activities to fulfill these objectives:

• Produce quality reports that document the trends, gaps, and emerging needs in educating for environmental literacy in K-20 to be responsive to workforce needs and a changing population in the region.
• Develop a pilot program, inspired by the NAE Grand Challenges Scholars Program, at Gulf engineering institutions to engage diverse undergraduate engineering students in topics of human health and community resilience, environmental protection and stewardship, and offshore energy system safety while providing the skills needed to address complex problems across the region.
• Continue supporting the Science Policy Fellowship program to facilitate pathways for early-career scientists to build policy-relevant skills and to use them to address issues in human health and community resilience, environmental protection and stewardship, and offshore energy safety.
• Develop a Data Fellowship to train early-career scientists in open-science and big data principles and to apply those skills to critical questions that span the GRP’s programmatic areas.
• Build capacity of communities and decision-makers to interpret, translate, and use state-of-the-art data visualization and presentation tools.