1.

INTRODUCTION

Rapid progress in the application of light to development of new technologies has created a vacuum in the population of well-prepared scientists, engineers, and technicians. The International Year of Light, in 2015, underscored the need for more awareness of and interest in light-based technologies. Demands in computing and data, communications, medical technologies, lighting and energy efficiency, defense and security, and many other fields have pushed technology development to where the photon is the natural carrier of energy and information, replacing the electron. Yet most technical education programs are not keeping up with the need for their programs to prepare a workforce specialized in, or even familiar with the technologies that are employed.

In 2005, the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (NSF-ATE) program awarded a 5-year Cooperative Agreement to Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD) to create OP-TEC, the National Center for Optics and Photonics Education. This cooperative agreement, now managed by the University of Central Florida (UCF), led to the development of standard technical education materials in direct consultation with industries in photonics and those for whom photonics is enabling technology. It also led to the building of a consortium of community colleges, technical colleges, and universities that offer photonics technical certificates and degrees, which now consists of just under 40 members, the OP-TEC Coordinators Network (OPCN). OP-TEC, with input from the OPCN, has built a standard curriculum for technical training and education in photonics.

Latinos, and particularly Latina women are traditionally under-represented in STEM fields [1]. The population of Puerto Rico is virtually all Latino and citizens of the United States, but at the same time, there is a very high level of economic hardship, with 45% of the population living below the poverty line and nearly all young people requiring federal and other financial aid to attend college. Women represent a solid proportion of students, and there is a large community of military veterans. In spite of the notable disadvantage and economic hardship, Puerto Rico has a solid higher education system and the raw materials for a solid education system at all levels.

The Puerto Rico Photonics Institute (PRPI) was founded at the Universidad Metropolitana (UMET) School of Environmental Affairs in 2011 as part of UMET’s joining the new management consortium at the Arecibo Observatory (led by SRI International). In 2014, PRPI won a grant from the United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration’s Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program, which provided $2.5M to develop a 1-year workforce training program in photonics. The program, called New Horizons: Puerto Rico Lasers and Photonics Career Pathways², employs a curriculum built on the OP-TEC materials and adapted to knowledge and skillset requirements indicated by industries in Puerto Rico. The curriculum (see Table 1) is a four-quarter program that consists of 40 credits including four optics and photonics technical courses, two electronics technical courses, two electronics technical courses, and one course each of mathematics and English. It includes an innovative course in entrepreneurship, which is intended to both attract people interested in launching small businesses and in awakening the entrepreneurial spirit in students who enter the program for the technical education. Finally, it has an eight-week industry internship during the third of the four terms, which has multiple purposes: direct work experience employing the education in optics, photonics, and electronics; an opportunity for local industry to see potential future employees in a true work environment, and a means for PRPI to receive feedback on the progress of its students and the effectiveness of its curriculum.

Table 1.

PRPI New Horizons 1-year Curriculum

2.

NEED

The PRPI academic programs for a 1-year certificate and associate degree in Photonics and Lasers are directed towards workforce development. As the only institute in PR dedicated to provide training, education, research, and outreach activities in these fields, the decision to develop an academic program responds to the following needs.

Figure 1.

Unemployment rate for Puerto Rico, 2004-2014.

We have responded to these challenges by creating a 1-year Photonics & Lasers Technical Specialist certificate, developed and supported under a grant from the US Department of Labor. The project, entitled New Horizons: Puerto Rico Lasers and Photonics Career Pathways offers displaced workers, veterans, and others in Puerto Rico an opportunity to develop new and highly-marketable skills. The program is intended to impact two particular focus communities while being open to any technically-skilled adult seeking a career in Lasers and Photonics. The first community is those displaced by trade agreements and who are deemed qualified for Trade Adjustment Act (TAA)-eligibility according to the state and local Workforce Investment Act Boards (WIBs), and the second is unemployed or underemployed veterans and reservists. In addition to the technical credential offered by UMET, students will have the opportunity to obtain an internationally-recognized industry credential as a Photonics Technical Operator through ETA-International, taking the qualification exam at PRPI.

3.

EDUCATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM

4.

CHALLENGES

The Photonics STEM field in Puerto Rico is affected by three main broadening participation (BP) challenges. First, the current economic situation in Puerto Rico prevents many prospective students from pursuing an education since they cannot pay for it themselves, often do not qualify for or have consumed their federal aid, and they fear incurring debt. Second, cultural and language barriers prevent many from even considering applying to a university or college in the continental US. Third, the challenge faced by the photonics industry worldwide that is growing at a faster pace than the number of professionals being trained in the field, and thus requires expanded education and training opportunities.

The New Horizons program is designed to address these challenges in the following ways:

Other issues that arise will require future efforts and results. High school graduates generally avoid certificate programs, as the idea of a degree, be it 2-year or 4-year, is less daunting for those who have not yet incurred family responsibilities or debts. For this reason, the AAS program approval, and then the transition of our program from a 1-year Certificate to a 2-year AAS is vital. The certificate will still be available, albeit with some modifications, for those who do not wish to complete the general education requirements for the AAS degree. Our current student demographic is represented by people who have been out of college for some years (some, 20 or more years). These students have a difficult time reestablishing (or in fact establishing for the first time) study habits. We are working hard to develop support systems, as well as in-class pedagogic methods that better suit these students. Finally, there having been no photonics jobs in Puerto Rico, students are justifiably skeptical about their career prospects. We are working with our employer community to develop a database of jobs, and within the program we work to make sure that all students can visit at least one employer associated with PRPI during their studies.

The economic situation in Puerto Rico cannot be neglected in this analysis. Puerto Rico population is declining as people look for opportunity in the US mainland. The departure of young people, unemployed people with families and the need for new jobs, and professionals seeking better opportunity and stability has an especially large impact on universities.

5.

CURRICULUM

Table 1 presents the one-year (four quarters) curriculum plan for New Horizons. Courses are for-credit, so that the credential earned is stackable, and we anticipate approval of our Associate Degree program in the very near future. Once approved, students who wish to continue to an AAS degree need only complete the general education component of the degree, which will require 1-2 semesters. We will be developing elective courses for the AAS degree as well.

The curriculum is notable in that not only does it contain the four basic optics, lasers and photonics courses, but three innovative additional elements:

6.

FUTURE EXPECTATIONS AND DEVELOPMENTS

As mentioned, the PRPI Certificate as a Laser and Photonics Technical Specialist will eventually morph into an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Engineering Technology in Photonics and Lasers. We anticipate approval of this proposed degree in the very near future from the Puerto Rico Council of Higher Education. Following that, we have developing ideas for higher degrees.

Although a Bachelor Degree is a tempting prospect, the lack of an engineering school at our university is a major obstacle. We hope to begin a project with local engineering colleges, starting with our sister university, the University of Turabo, to offer a photonics professional certificate (or perhaps, if it is workable, a minor) for engineering majors. Later, through a consortium of aerospace universities in Puerto Rico, and organized by the local Aerospace Manufacturing Community, we hope to benefit from crossover credits between universities in order to offer photonics to any and all STEM majors in Puerto Rico.

Finally, we hope to benefit from the dearth of photonics technology programs nationally and internationally by attracting students to study photonics in Puerto Rico.