Two instructors at OSU Institute of Technology are preparing for a $300,000 grant submission for the School of Energy Technologies through a grant-sponsored mentorship program titled Mentor-Connect.

Instructors Terry Hanzel and Bob Pope have been working through a leadership development mentorship program called Mentor-Connect, a project funded through the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education program. 

They were accepted into the mentorship in November 2018 through a grant proposal initial concept submission. The mentorship includes all travel support and registration costs for two members of the team to attend workshops for assistance in writing the final grant submission. 

Due to not having an NSF grant over the last seven years, OSUIT qualified for the Small Projects New to ATE type of grant. 

“We were accepted into the Small Projects New to ATE mentorship,” said Hanzel. “Our grant submission will be for a maximum of $300,000 over the next three years. Our grant submission focus includes curriculum development, collaboration on developing a diverse workforce and staff development for new blended and online courses.”

The first workshop attended was in New Orleans, Louisiana on Feb. 6 through Feb. 8. They were grouped along with another grant team and their shared mentor and a mentor-in-training. The groups reviewed and evaluated previous grant proposals for a mock approval based on real criteria for the grant submission, teaching the teams how their grant proposals would be evaluated. 

Hanzel said he stumbled upon this opportunity by accident, “I was attending the NISOD International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence in Austin and ATE had a booth set up along with a presentation which explained this grant opportunity and mentorship program.”

This whole opportunity is about creating a grant submission that has all of the components NSF is looking for. They believe in investing in success.   

“I think it’s great because this type of training is typically for grant writers and this is focused on faculty,” said Anna Dinsmore, Workforce and Economic Development grant writer. “This educates the faculty and provides them the resources they need, not only for this grant but also future grants.”

Hanzel and Pope plan to attend another Mentor-Connect sponsored training this July held in St. Louis. The 2019 Hi-Tech Exchange Conference is centered around developing the grant budget and will further prepare the team for the October grant submission.