Texas A&M University leads a multi-institutional collaboration funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) planning grant to develop a comprehensive research plan for a National Center for Spectrum Innovation. NSF plans to invest $25 million over five years to stand up a national center, one that is operational within two years. The center’s goals are to conduct critical convergence-based research and technology development; serve as a hub for collaborative engagements; educate the workforce; propose appropriate policies, standards, and regulations; advance relevant economic issues; and address ethical issues, including attending to the needs of populations currently underserved by spectrum-related technologies.
To inform the planning grant’s education and workforce efforts, the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) developed this report to share preliminary findings from its background research and interviews, which subsequently informed a more comprehensive quantitative analysis of job postings data on current and emerging spectrum occupations, highlighting top skills, top employers, top industries, and top locations. The report demonstrates the broad, diverse, and high-demand landscape of spectrum’s current and future education and workforce needs
