Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Academy
Grant
Overview
abstract
-
David White,James Morris (Lead Principal Investigator), Merwan Mehta, Tarek A. Salam, T.J Mohammed, Howard William, Chris Venters, Ranjeet Agarwala, Teresa Ryan. Advanced Manufacturing Academy. Golden Leaf Foundation, $1.25 million (funded)-2014.
-
North Carolina is the fourth largest manufacturing state in the country. This sector is changing rapidly with companies developing and adopting new technologies to collaborate with others, fuel innovation and design the best products possible. In North Carolina, advanced manufacturers rely heavily on skilled STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workers and STEM jobs are expected to grow by 17 percent between 2008 and 2018 with 91 percent of STEM jobs requiring post-secondary education by 2018. Unfortunately, these employers face a shortage of candidates to fill current job openings. For example, a 2011 survey by the North Carolina Chamber found that 600,000 manufacturing jobs were unfilled due to a lack of qualified candidates. Additionally, education policy makers and employers recognize now that while STEM is a necessary driver of a competitive workforce and economy, this alone is not sufficient to build an economy that continually generates more ideas to solve more and bigger problems, i.e. an innovation economy. Creating STEAM by including Arts/Design with a STEM curriculum, and putting this knowledge to work through innovation processes and entrepreneurship, remains critical to the overall educational preparation of our future workers/leaders and will greatly help assure our future economy by providing the best possible preparation for innovation (http:steam-notstem.com). Addressing these challenges and opportunities, the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Academy (AMIA) and associated Master eSTEAM Instructor program is a next-generation collaboration among middle school parents, students and teachers, East Carolina University, Pitt Community College, Pitt County Schools, STEM East and regional advanced manufactures addressing the shortage of technically-skilled STEAM workers and entrepreneurs in the workforce. This proposal builds upon the proven success of these partners? K12 STEM programming, summer Math and Science enrichment programs, nationally-recognized Middle School Innovators Academy, REAL Entrepreneurship training, the STEM Girls, as well as Golden Leaf investments in the region through STEM East. These organization share in their missions, goals, and objectives a commitment to regional transformation through the development of human capital, job creation, investment attraction and economic development for Pitt County and eastern North Carolina. Specifically, these partners are creating new pathways to inform, engage, direct and incentivize students to acquire the skills, knowledge and abilities required for local technology-intensive advanced manufacturing employment and entrepreneurship. The AMIA establishes a robust education-to-workforce pipeline in which students 1) enhance awareness of regional advanced manufacturing careers; 2) increase STEAM skills, knowledge and abilities; 3) develop competency in innovation processes; 4) acquire leadership/soft skills; and 5) prepare for successful employment and entrepreneurship. Individually and collectively, these partners have experience executing multi-million dollar, landscape-scale grants and contracts. Infrastructure exists to document accountability: delivery, financial, legal/compliance, reporting and dissemination supporting replication. These four education partners represent the primary education pipeline in the county and region, and when linked to their industry and military partners, represent the driving economic force within the area. With its rich tradition of education innovation, strong work ethic and cultural ties, and existing advanced manufacturing cluster, eastern North Carolina is well positioned to catalyze a culture of innovation and mobilize the skills, knowledge and abilities of a new creative class. The loss of young people from eastern North Carolina?s rural counties is widespread, accelerating,
date/time interval
awarded by