Massachusetts STEM Summit 2015

The attainment of critical thinking skills through project-based learning is at the heart of STEM education. Then add the opportunities for students to immerse themselves into the manufacturing process and learning real-world technical skills from industry mentors. Put those three components together and it becomes a job-driven STEM educational program called the National Robotics League (NRL). The NRL highlights the importance of partnership models between educators and businesses in creating project-based learning opportunities that apply real-world manufacturing problems to solve. Closing the large and growing skills gap in the US will provide our youth with innumerable job opportunities, and employers with the talent they so desperately need to have sustained success. We will present a model that will highlight how successful partnerships between high school educators and manufacturers have paved the way for fun, applied learning opportunities for students. Our business/industry partners, post-secondary partners, community leaders, parents, administrators and students have, and will continue, to play an important role in our success as we build a STEM career pipeline for our students.