The Engineering Information Foundation's grants support developmental, instructional, and training initiatives in two program areas, Enhancing Communication Skills in Engineering, and Women in Engineering. EIF wants to assist engineering faculty in transmitting the necessary listening, written, verbal, visual, and graphic communication skills that their students need to be successful engineers. EIF also aims to increase women in engineering through encouraging middle school and high school girls in engineering and improving engagement and retention of undergraduate women in engineering programs.

Enhancing Communication Skills in Engineering
EIF invites proposals that seek to ensure that undergraduate engineering students master the skills necessary to communicate critical information individually and in groups to diverse audiences through a variety of means that include listening, speaking, writing, and the use of visual and graphic tools. Grants in this program range to a maximum of US$25,000.          

Women in Engineering

Strategy #1- Increasing Women in Engineering

Work needs to be done to encourage girls to become interested in engineering as a career, and to retain women in engineering through college and beyond. Given this background, EIF is interested in funding programs in the following areas:

1.       Program to Encourage Middle School Girls in Engineering conducted by engineering educators (at ABET accredited institutions) and others that encourage them to prepare for and undertake careers in engineering. 

2.       Programs designed to improve the retention rate of undergraduate women in engineering. Programs must be ABET accredited for the specific engineering program for which funding is requested. These must cover such diverse areas as classroom climate, learning behaviors, classroom pedagogies, and academic and social support programs. 

3.      Programs for high school girls enrolled in STEM courses, exposing them to careers in engineering. 

Strategy #2- Women in Engineering- Engineers Without Borders- Chapter Diversity Program

 Research has shown that the more women are engaged in engineering school, the more likely they are to graduate and become working engineers. Female students who participate in EWB activities fall into this category. Due to the many proposals EiF receives from EWB chapters, we are instituting a formal EWB program focusing on gender diversity. EiF will support EWB teams that are all-female, or a majority female. The project leader of the team MUST be female. Under this program, EiF will fund a maximum of 2 grants per year of $5,000 each (only) to EWB chapters.

Concept Paper due: 02/06/2026, 11:59 pm
Application due: 02/28/2026
Link to FOA Here

PI Eligibility: Individuals with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as a Principal Investigator (PI) are invited to work with their organizations to develop an application. Individuals from underrepresented groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply.  

Institutional Limit: An applicant may not submit more than one proposal per cycle.

Application Information: Interested PIs should submit a CV and a concept paper (up to 1 page) describing their proposed project. Papers should include a problem statement and make a case for why this problem is significant and why the approach recommended is the best to solve it. Papers will be judged on the criteria in the solicitation.