FARR-STEM: From Data to Discovery in AI‑Ready STEM

Program Summary

FARR‑STEM is an online/self-paced program that introduces students to the foundations of data, data science and artificial intelligence. Faculty will also offer interactive check-ins. Participants will:

  1. Learn how to organize, clean, and manage research data
  2. Explore FAIR* and FARR* principles
  3. Use data science and AI tools to extract and evaluate information
  4. Work with scientific research data
A Lego man stands with a circuit board, symbolizing creativity and innovation in a playful manner.

Participants will also learn about materials science research in connection with the NSF-HDR Institute for Data Driven Dynamical Design and the Materials Genome Initiative. The FARR-STEM program is open to students from:

  • Bucks County Community College (Bucks CCC)
  • Camden County Community College (CCCC)
  • Community College of Philadelphia (CCP)
  • Delaware County Community College (DCCC)
  • Montgomery County Community College (MCCC)
  • Students from regional partner institutions (Lincoln University and Cheyney University of Pennsylvania) and area universities are also encouraged to apply, particularly those exploring pathways into STEM research.

Important Dates (Application: click here!)

  • May 31 – Application Deadline
  • June 5 – Decision of Acceptance
  • June 15 – Program start
  • September 18 – A one day event at Drexel University

Format and Benefits

  • Format
    • Six (6) self‑paced online modules (approx. 5 hours each)
      • Completed over 12 weeks
    • One‑Day Campus Event — held in person at Drexel University
  • Benefits
    • Travel expenses are fully covered for the one-day event at Drexel University
    • $100 participation award will be granted to all accepted students
    • A certificate of completion
    • Exposure to real research labs and scientists

Expectations and Skills

Students should have an interest in STEM. No prior experience in Data Science or Materials Science is required. However, students should have basic technical skills, including:

  • Basic computer use (laptop or desktop)
  • Mouse skills
  • Keyboard skills
  • Operating system navigation (macOS, Windows, ChromeOS, or Linux)
  • Spreadsheet basics (Excel, Google Sheets, or LibreOffice Calc; formulas not required)
  • Skills you will learn:
    • Data cleaning and normalization
    • Organizing complex research files (images, datasets, text)
    • Metadata creation (e.g., Dublin Core)
    • Using controlled vocabularies and ontologies
    • Understanding FAIR & reproducible research principles
    • Basic statistics
    • AI basics, Knowledge Graphs, Visualization
    • Evaluating AI‑generated outputs

Acronyms

FARR-STEM – FAIR in machine learning, AI Readiness and Reproducibility of research for the Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

FAIR Principles – Principles which encourage the Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability in data management practices.

AI – Artificial Intelligence

Application: click here!