STEM

A new facility at Portland Community College is helping students practice specialized manufacturing skills and cleanroom protocols using equipment that simulates a real manufacturing environment.

With funding from the state and The Delta Air Lines Foundation, the Georgia Institute of Technology will revamp its aerospace engineering facility to include advanced labs and research spaces for emerging technologies.

UNCG will be the first university in the state to have a SparkHub, where students complete modules in AI, cybersecurity, software development, UX/UI design, data analytics, game design and esports.

High schoolers attending the Future of Education Technology Conference last month argued that punitive policies against essential technologies do a disservice to graduates entering an AI-saturated job market.

Massachusetts is above the national average for percentage of high school students who have taken a computer science course, but there’s no state requirement to teach the subject in K-12 schools.

Council Bluffs Community School District will spend funding from Google on an autonomous robot, new welding booths and specialized Project Lead The Way engineering devices and IT hardware for interdisciplinary courses.

A partnership with a nonprofit STEM organization gives students at the University of North Dakota a chance for scholarships, lifelong membership in the foundation and mentorship by ASF members and astronauts.

A new STEM school in Council Bluffs Community School District is expected to have areas of concentration in medical technology, engineering, robotics, AI, aeronautics, cybersecurity and bioscience, plus a P-TECH program.

Google has given money to support STEM education at Glenwood Community School District, apprenticeships at Iowa Western Community College and IT boot camps at Avenue Scholars Southwest Iowa, among other programs.

Hiring a workforce development coordinator with deep industry knowledge and connections, and making it easier for CTE instructors to get licensed, helped an Arizona district grow its network of business partnerships.

Starting a computer science program at the elementary school level involves gathering support, explaining the “why,” letting teachers play and experiment, establishing tech teams and formalizing new expectations.

As the STEM program at Cochranton Junior-Senior High in Pennsylvania expands, all students will be able to earn a STEM certificate in addition to their diploma through courses like applied engineering and digital media.

A private college in Pennsylvania will use a $30,000 grant from Constellation Energy to supply its mobile Science in Motion program with equipment to be loaned out to school districts across the state.

A private business based in Guilderland, New York, is hosting a student robotics competition in January as part of the Vex robotics series, with support and funding from the University at Albany.

Schools in Alabama have a year to voluntarily implement a digital literacy and computer science course approved by the Alabama State Board of Education. It will become a requirement within 18 months.

With $40 million from a private foundation and $35 million in state funding, a new initiative in Indiana will support a statewide analysis of STEM competency and new digital resources, among other things.

The nonprofit STEM Next Opportunity Fund is working with Qualcomm Incorporated to pilot after-school and summer programming in AI literacy at schools in Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

A new computer science wing at a community college in Michigan strengthens its IT programs and capacity to train students in computer numeric control, programmable logic controllers, data science and mechatronics.