INCORPORATING UNDERGRADUATE ALASKA NATIVE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHERS INTO THE ALASKA NATIVE SCIENCE & ENGINEERING PROGRAM (ANSEP) SUMMER INTERNSHIP MODEL

We have developed a successful ANSEP Research Partner/Affiliate model at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) that expands ANSEP internship/scholarship opportunities to include Indigenous students majoring in science and mathematics as well as engineering. ANSEP integrates pre-college outreach, recruitment and training, along with summer internships and college retention and career placement strategies, to open a pathway to academic and professional success for Indigenous students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). ANSEP is the framework for a tight community of academically driven indigenous students who are inventing how they will thrive in the 21st century while still retaining the essence of their cultures and traditions.

Originated at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in 1996 by Schroeder, ANSEP was initially for engineering students only. ANSEP is now an NSF sponsored, Pacific Alliance program. The Pacific Alliance is a Louis Stokes' Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) that includes UAA, UAF, University of Hawai'i-Manoa and the University of Washington, as well as major corporate sponsors and federal research organizations. Retention rates of Native Americans in all Pacific Alliance engineering programs are now over 73% (compared with a national average of 27%). Expansion of ANSEP to other branches of science (currently in selected areas of geology, biology and physics as well as biomedical research and bioinformatics) began at UAF in 2002 with the formation of the Pacific Alliance. Retention rates at UAF now exceed 90%.

Corporate Partners provide academic year stipend or scholarship support for the ANSEP engineering interns they employ. Research Partner/Affiliates specifically allocate funds from research grants to cover academic-year stipend support for their ANSEP student interns. To maintain quality and integrity of ANSEP, PI's are required to obtain direct approval from the UAF ANSEP Director before submitting a proposal including ANSEP language. Upon approval, a proposal plug-in (with budget) and a letter of support is provided. This Research Partner/Affiliate model requires strong synergistic connections with research programs to provide quality internships and mentoring as well as financial support for the students.