Read this Emerging Technologies Institute report in Wrivid.
December 2024
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The authors would like to thank Guy Walsh, Amy Nice, Shanni Silberberg, and Payuna Uday for their
feedback as well as former ETI interns Madison Binder and Daira Flores for their research support.
About the Institute for Progress
The Institute for Progress (IFP) is a non-partisan think tank focused on innovation policy. IFP works to accelerate and shape the direction of scientific, technological, and industrial progress. Headquartered in Washington D.C., IFP works with policymakers across the political spectrum to make it easier to build the future in the United States. First published in 2024 by NDIA’s affiliate, the Emerging Technologies Institute. 2101 Wilson Blvd, Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22201, United States of America. (703) 522-1820 © 2024 by the National Defense Industrial Association. All rights reserved. This report is made possible by general support to NDIA and the Emerging Technologies Institute. No direct sponsorship contributed to this report. This report is produced by NDIA, a non-partisan, non-profit, educational association that has been designated by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and was founded to educate its constituencies on all aspects of national security. Its research is nonpartisan. DISCLAIMER: The ideas and findings in this report should not be construed to be official positions of either NDIA or any of the organizations listed as contributors or the membership of NDIA. It is published in the interest of an information exchange between government and industry, pursuant to its mission to bring industry and government together to engage in discussions of important topics. For more information please visit our website: EmergingTechnologiesInstitute.org
MEDIA QUERIES:
Rachel Sunderland, NDIA Director of Public Affairs & Communications at rsunderland@NDIA.org
Strengthening the National Security Innovation Base Requires International STEM Talent
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................................4
Introduction
............................................................................................................................................................5
Workforce Challenges in Defense
.................................................................................................................6
Foreign-Born Talent in STEM
..........................................................................................................................7 Paths Through the U.S. Immigration System ...................................................................................................9 Green Cards and Naturalization .......................................................................................................................12 Foreign-Born STEM Talent in Defense ......................................................................................................12 Recommendations .............................................................................................................................................15 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................................................17 Appendix: International Students Enrolled by STEM Field (1998/99 – 2023/24) ....................18 4
Executive Summary
1 OASD INDUSTRIAL BASE POLICY. (2023). Fiscal Year 2021 Industrial Capabilities Report to Congress. https://www.businessdefense.gov/docs/ resources/FY2021-Industrial-Capabilities-Report-to-Congress.pdf 2 National Science Board. (2024). The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2024. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20243/talent-u-s-and-global-stem- education-and-labor-force
The National Defense Industrial Association Emerging
Technologies Institute (NDIA ETI) collaborated with the Institute for Progress (IFP) to analyze the science, technol- ogy, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce in the Department of Defense (DoD) and defense industrial base (DIB), with a particular focus on evaluating the utility of high- skilled immigration in defense. This was done by conducting interviews with DoD officials and individuals working in the DIB, and by analyzing publicly available data sources.
Interviews with personnel from DoD and the DIB paint
a concerning picture: Shortages of STEM talent have hin- dered the development of critical and emerging technologies.