SME program attracts youth to technology, manufacturing

Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Published : 21 Nov 2006 16:22

CHARLESTON, S.C. –South Carolina middle school students will soon benefit from a new partnership between The Silver Crescent Foundation, a South Carolina based foundation dedicated to helping students explore career opportunities in engineering and technology, Project Lead the Way® (PLTW) and The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation.

Together with these partners, the Silver Crescent Foundation will administer the first South Carolina based STEPS Academy for middle school students beginning in the summer of 2007. STEPS which stands for Science, Technology, and Engineering Preview Summer, is a one week day camp which gives students a real-world view of engineering and technical careers using a fun and challenging project-based approach. The STEPS Academy and Project Lead the Way curriculum creates a pipeline for students to successfully enter postsecondary education and pursue high-quality, knowledge intensive jobs of the future.

The partnership is a unique opportunity to advance the objectives realized through Silver Crescent’s Camp Success, a state-of-the-art day camp launched in June 2006 at the University of South Carolina and Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College.

Advances in technology and the globalization of the economy have created a variety of challenges facing our students as they prepare to enter the workforce. Employers regularly emphasize the need for a more skilled workforce at a time in which we continue to experience a decrease in engineering graduates across the nation. The South Carolina Education and Economic Development Act of 2005(EEDA) established a system to address these challenges. Camp Success and the STEPS Academy are a compliment and an enhancement to the system established by the EEDA.

The Silver Crescent Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to inspiring, supporting and preparing students for success in the workforce. Through initiatives focused on career exploration and workforce readiness, the Silver Crescent Foundation works with students to build a framework of skills and knowledge that will assist them in facing the challenges of a global economy.

The SME Education Foundation is one of the nation’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing manufacturing education through college and university grants, scholarships, fellowships, and student outreach programs. Since 1980, the Foundation has invested more than $21 million in cash grants, scholarships and awards – more funding than any other professional society.

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Project Lead the Way® (PLTW) is a nonprofit organization that promotes pre-engineering courses for middle and high school students. PLTW forms partnerships with public schools, higher education institutions and the private sector to increase the quantity and quality of engineers entering the workforce. It seeks to create dynamic partnerships with our nation’s schools to prepare an increasing and more diverse group of students to be successful in engineering and engineering technology programs.

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