We are thrilled to announce the six winners in DARPA’s Building an Adaptive and Competitive Workforce track through the 2023-24 Tools Competition! Teams in this track will leverage award funds to kickstart and refine innovative solutions that support adult learners in developing critical skills necessary for the current and future national security workforce. Their tools demonstrate exceptional creativity and impact potential, addressing crucial barriers adult learners face in accessing opportunities for 21st-century skills development.
According to Dr. Wil Corvey of DARPA, “Rapid upskilling will maintain US strategic advantage across a variety of sectors by ensuring a broad and diverse workforce positioned to capitalize on emerging opportunities. From this year’s winners, we expect to seed the educational technology market with innovative products that show the economic promise of applications meeting critical STEM and data science educational needs, promoting further innovation and growth in this market.”
Leveraging emerging technologies, such as AI and LLMs, these tools create personalized learning experiences that meet the unique needs of adult learners and empower workers of all backgrounds to thrive in high-demand sectors that require skills such as data science and various STEM competencies.
After a rigorous evaluation process, DARPA’s track will award $750,000 to six winning tools. We’re excited to showcase their innovations below.
Winners of the Building an Adaptive and Competitive Workforce Track
- Scholé (Catalyst Award)
Scholé makes data science upskilling effortless for adult learners, supporting users with goal-setting, progress tracking, and study habit recommendations.
- Codesafe | University of California, Irvine (Catalyst Award)
Codesafe is an adaptive computer science education platform that leverages AI and large language models to reinvent existing curricula with an increased focus on code comprehension and software security.
- HVAC Hero (Catalyst Award)
HVAC Hero aims to expand access to high-quality skilled trades training through personalized, simulation-based virtual learning experiences that prepare adult learners to enter the HVAC workforce.
- CrystalSTEM: STEM Microcredentials for Adult and Continuing Education | Eduworks Corporation (Growth Award)
CrystalSTEM is an interactive AI tool designed to help continuing education departments offer critical upskilling opportunities by analyzing local STEM skill needs, predicting skill trends, and recommending non-credit programs and microcredentials to address data science and STEM skill gaps.
- QuantHub Challenge | QuantHub (Growth Award)
The QuantHub Challenge is an AI-driven summative assessment platform that provides personalized, real-world data science challenges to enhance the skills and employability of adult learners.
- Game-based Training Simulator for 5G Technologies | Haiku, Inc (Transform Award)
Haiku, Inc. plans to expand its accessible game-based platform to offer hands-on training in 5G wireless engineering skills to a diversity of learners and facilitate access to high-paying jobs in this sector.
Learn about the winners named in all Tools Competition tracks here. We congratulate all teams for their exceptional work and look forward to seeing these proposals come to life.
With the announcement of winners, we are now wrapping up the last phase of DARPA’s Building an Adaptive and Competitive Workforce track. This is the second track DARPA has sponsored in collaboration with the Tools Competition. Read about the six teams awarded in the 2022-2023 cycle here.
As winning teams begin implementing their proposals, the Tools Competition is gearing up to launch our next cycle in September 2024! Stay updated by following us on X and joining our mailing list.
