Pre-college Outreach at a Technical Conference

Abstract

A strong technical workforce is essential in a technology-based society. The selection of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) electives and of related careers is influenced by familiarity with and perceptions of engineering. Pre-college students need significant opportunities to interact with engineering professionals and to investigate engineering careers. Also, pre-college teachers can gain insight into engineering through such experiences. Technical conferences attract professionals from industry and academia and showcase technologies. Hence, a conference venue can serve as an enriching environment for a pre-college program. Outreach activities for students and teachers were held at the IEEE GLOBECOM Conference. The participants interacted with conference attendees in selected conference activities and dedicated pre-college events. After the conference, the participants shared this experience at their schools. The assessment examined the effectiveness of the interactions and the appropriateness of selected conference activities. The approach can serve as a model for other conference-based outreach programs.

Department(s)

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Sponsor(s)

National Science Foundation (U.S.)
Sprint Corporation

Keywords and Phrases

K-12 Education; STEM Careers; Engineering Conference; Pre-College Outreach

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2009 Tempus Publications, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2009

Link to Full Text

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