Hawaii Pacific University's Oceanic Institute recently received a $549,430 grant from the U.S. Department of Education in an effort to bolster Native Hawaiian representation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, fields.
“The goal of this project is to increase the enrollment and graduation rates of Native Hawaiian students in STEM majors at HPU,” said Shaun Moss, executive director of the Oceanic Institute, in a statement. “Aquaculture represents a unique, transdisciplinary platform for STEM education because it integrates biology, chemistry, engineering, and business in a holistic manner.
“Hands-on learning opportunities will be provided to Native Hawaiians students through participation in applied aquaculture research at OI, where students will work side-by-side with OI scientists on ongoing projects related to algae production and fish and shrimp aquaculture,” Moss said.
HPU Dean of the College of Natural and Computational Sciences Brenda Jensen added, “We are excited for this grant award because it enables us to implement the latest technology and innovative elements of distance education to make our exciting, cutting-edge marine science programs truly accessible not only to the most diverse audience yet, but also to key stakeholders for the problem solving that we need here in the islands."
