About The Conference
The 2026 NSF EEC Grantees Conference will take place on September 30 - October 2, 2026 at the Westin Alexandria Old Town in Alexandria, Virginia.
This two-day conference will provide a forum for Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) Principal Investigators (PIs) and team leaders to learn, explore, and share ideas that will promote innovation in engineering education research and practice.
Grantees from the following programs are invited to participate in this conference:
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Broadening Participation in Engineering (BPE)
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Engineering Education — includes Research in the Formation of Engineers (RFE) and Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (RIEF)
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Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)
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Research Experiences for Teachers (RET)
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Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
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Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) – Please note that the 2026 RED Consortium Meeting will take place concurrently at the same venue.
Conference activities will include plenary sessions, grantee-led concurrent sessions, poster sessions, NSF-led breakout sessions by cluster, and structured networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities.
Conference Theme: Advancing Engineering Education in Times of Uncertainty
Engineering education is navigating a period of rapid change and growing uncertainty. Emerging technologies, evolving workforce needs, and shifting societal and institutional realities are reshaping how engineers conduct research and prepare the future engineering workforce.
We stand at a pivotal moment – now more than ever, this community of engineering educators, researchers, and innovators must come together to reflect, advance bold ideas, and chart a resilient path forward for the future of engineering education.
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The 2026 NSF EEC Grantees Conference will provide an opportunity for EEC grantees to gather and reflect on this theme. Grantees will have the opportunity to submit proposals to lead interactive concurrent sessions. Sub-themes include:
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Leading with Care: Advancing leadership approaches that center care, psychological safety, and sustainable academic cultures. This subtheme invites work that responds to stress, adversity, and trauma while cultivating supportive and humane environments for educators, researchers, and students.
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Transformative Learning Environments: Explore the transformative role of generative AI and digital technologies —including robotics and extended reality—in engineering education. This subtheme invites work that critically examines their impact across learning, research, and practice, with attention to AI literacy, ethics, and navigating disruption.
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Student Well-Being, Identity, and Belonging: Advance student success by supporting holistic development, identity, and belonging. This subtheme invites work on student-centered environments, cross-boundary networks, and effective strategies for recruiting, including, and retaining diverse and international students.
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Systems, Policy, and Organizational Change: Drive systemic transformation in response to shifting priorities, accountability pressures, and resource constraints. This theme invites policy-informed strategies, innovative funding approaches, and leadership models that enable programs to adapt, sustain quality, and lead change at scale.
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Industry Partnerships and Workforce Development: Align engineering education with evolving workforce needs through high-impact industry partnerships. This theme invites work that co-develops curricula, integrates experiential learning, and advances applied research to strengthen workforce readiness.
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