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Finding top talent has always been a challenge in the engineering field, especially now at a time when many in the media say high school students seem to be showing less interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).<\/p>\nFinding top talent has always been a challenge in the engineering field, especially now at a time when many in the media say high school students seem to be showing less interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).<\/p>\n
To meet the professional needs of STEM-related, high-growth industries, federal and state governments, as well as the private sector, are becoming more active in supporting STEM training programs for K-12 students. For example, Utah is funding a $10-million STEM Action Center, \u201cwhich will be a hub of collaboration for communities, industries, higher education, and public education,\u201d says Carol George, Utah\u2019s state science advisor. \u201cThe goal is to produce a college-educated STEM workforce that can meet the needs of our growing high-tech industries.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the private sector, General Motors is working with the state of Michigan to support STEM programs. GM has agreed to help fund \u201cProject Lead the Way,\u201d a leading nonprofit provider of STEM curriculum for middle and high schools. These courses make engineering relevant by applying STEM principles in real-world contexts, which help students develop critical thinking skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo ensure our\u00a0leadership in the automotive industry, we need to always look for opportunities to strengthen our involvement with science and math education programs,\u201d says John Calabrese, GM vice president of global\u00a0vehicle engineering. \u201cIt is essential that the next generation of professionals has the skills and education necessary to compete on a global platform, particularly as it pertains to STEM-related fields.\u201d<\/p>\n
David E. Cole is chairman emeritus of the\u00a0Center for Automotive Research\u00a0in Ann Arbor and former engineering professor at the University of Michigan. One of his passions is working with Building America\u2019s Tomorrow, a new nonprofit whose mission is to develop K-12 STEM talent for the manufacturing industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids don\u2019t have manufacturing on their radar screen,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have failed to get the message to young people about ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-content\/uploads\/STEM-Programs-Create-Engineers-of-the-Future_01.jpg\")
where the opportunities are in manufacturing. Part of our focus will be on video presentations that show what making things is all about. The Society of Automotive Engineers\u2019\u00a0A World of Motion curriculum, for instance, is fantastic. We want to see these things presented in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Colorado,\u00a0<\/strong>CH2M Hill\u00a0is working with Denver schools to support\u00a0SEEK\u2014the Summer Engineering Experience for Kids. The program was originally started by the National Society of Black Engineers in 2007 to bring more African Americans into STEM fields. According to the Economics and Statistics Administration, African-Americans and Hispanics each accounted for about 6 percent of Americans employed in STEM fields in 2011.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of us see the shortfall and we feel the responsibility and the need to bridge this gap,\u201d says Karen Nakandakare, diversity program manager at CH2M Hill, the primary sponsor of the SEEK program in Denver.<\/p>\n Academic institutions are also ramping up STEM programs across the country.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really need a society that has a better understanding of the grand challenges facing us and how engineering and science will be needed to find solutions,\u201d says Philip R. O’Leary, engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. \u201cI want students with STEM knowledge to advance into positions of leadership where they can use their scientific background and problem-solving skills to address the challenges associated with water, food, energy, health, and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n To help with this goal, UW-Madison\u2019s College of Engineering launched\u00a0Camp Badger Exploring Engineering\u00a0in 1998. The program helps younger students understand engineering through hands-on experiences like field trips to a multi-story construction site, sports stadium, fusion reactor, biomedical engineering research lab, bicycle manufacturing plant, and electric power plant. About 2,600 students have participated in Camp Badger since its inception.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have built connections to labs on the UW-Madison campus, Madison-area companies, and local governmental agencies that provide fantastic hands-on experiences, tours, and demonstrations,\u201d says O\u2019Leary. \u201cEngineers can discuss with the students how they do their work and what it means to be an engineer.\u201d<\/p>\n Engineering firms can provide opportunities for students to talk with engineers. \u201cOne of our favorite Camp Badger activities is a bus trip to a local industrial design firm where the students learn about making cool new products,\u201d says O\u2019Leary. \u201cEvery town that has both a school and a population of engineers will have plenty of things to see and do that will help students better understand STEM and its impact on the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Professional engineers can also help out with school engineering clubs or provide financial support for the\u00a0STEM\u00a0enrichment that many schools struggle to pay for. \u201cAt the policy level, schools need participation by engineering leaders,\u201d adds O\u2019Leary. \u201cNot many school boards have engineers as members.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Finding top talent has always been a challenge in the engineering field, especially now at a time when many in the media say high school students seem to be showing less interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). To meet the professional needs of STEM-related, high-growth industries, federal and state governments, as well as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-frontpage-blog","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1636"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1641,"href":"https:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636\/revisions\/1641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contaminasian.com\/dir1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Universities and K-12<\/h2>\n
Making a Difference<\/h2>\n