Beginnings: Experiential Learning in Digital Twin Technologies for the Blue Economy

About This Grant

The Blue Economy, which includes sectors like fisheries and marine production, offshore transport and engineering, and offshore energy, contributed about $397 billion to the nation's GDP in 2019 and supported 2.4 million jobs. Maine and the New England region are vital to this sector but face challenges such as workforce shortages, declining natural resources, and infrastructure limitations. Digital Twin (DT) technology, which builds real-time virtual models of physical systems, is a transformative approach for monitoring, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision-making. However, the U.S. workforce lacks sufficient DT training, especially in Maine, where few programs offer hands-on experience with DT systems. This ExLENT project aims to engage undergraduate and graduate students early in their degree programs and connect them with experiential learning opportunities. A cross-sector partnership includes five companies active in the Blue economy, one Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), and faculty labs leading DT research at the University of Maine. The project offers internship pathways, including workshops for professional development. The project will directly benefit 48 students by providing transformative learning experiences, support for internships, and career support. By preparing a capable DT workforce, the project will strengthen national capacity in Blue Economy technologies. This ExLENT project under the Beginnings track aims to engage undergraduate and graduate students with early, experiential learning opportunities in DT applications for the Blue Economy. The program addresses four main barriers: (1) limited access to educational DT test beds, (2) lack of early career pathways, (3) few professional development resources aligned with DT, and (4) financial barriers to participation. The program offers two internship pathways: (a) 8-week Summer Internships and (b) Through-the-Year Internships, both supported by pre-internship workshops, structured mentoring, and direct engagement with two educational test beds: a 1:70 lab-scale model of a flexible bottom-fixed offshore structure and a 1:4.5-scale floating ocean energy platform. Interns will learn core DT skills such as sensor fusion, AI-based analytics, and 3D visualization among others. Participants will also earn an industry-informed micro-credential on DT through the University of Maine System. The project will develop new knowledge about designing DT-focused experiential learning ecosystems and an understanding of how students learn from real-world operational data from educational test beds. The ExLENT Program, supported by the NSF TIP and EDU Directorates, seeks to support experiential learning opportunities for individuals to increase their interest in and access to career pathways in emerging technology fields. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.