Funding the Future of Learning & Work: How the NSF is Supporting Emerging Industries

Recorded live at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Shalin Jyotishi, Founder & Managing Director of the Future of Work & Innovation Economy Initiative at New America; Amy Girardi, Senior Program Officer at Ascendium Education Group; Gabriela Cruz Thompson, Director of University Research and Collaboration at Intel Corp.; and Paul Fain, Editor at Work Shift.

The session explored the transformative potential of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which established the first new arm of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) in over three decades. Speakers discussed how the NSF’s Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Directorate is collaborating with the STEM Education Directorate to fund initiatives that promote technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development—while building a strong national STEM workforce. With co-investment from industry and philanthropy, these efforts are creating unprecedented opportunities for stakeholders across K–12, higher education, workforce development, labor, and industry. The conversation offered a candid look at how these resources can catalyze “innovation everywhere, opportunities anywhere,” echoing the vision of NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.