INTRO

Dynamic Industry-Education Partnerships Prepare Students to Succeed in Knowledge Age

The 39 centers of the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education program lead dynamic, productive partnerships among industry, community colleges, and other education sectors. These partnerships begin with ATE center principal investigators listening – really listening – to employers describe the skills they seek in technicians.

The science and engineering technicians who are the focus of the National Science Foundation’s ATE program are knowledge workers in high-tech fields of vital importance to the nation’s security. They are the men and women who maintain energy supplies, secure digital information networks, transform plans into products, sustain the food supply, and protect natural resources. Their work often utilizes new technologies; it requires a solid foundation in math and science specific to their fields as well as teamwork, timeliness, and other workplace skills.

Understanding employers’ expectations for technicians now and in the future helps ATE centers formulate new strategies to educate more students to become full-fledged participants in the world-class workforce the U.S. needs to compete globally.

ATE Centers Impact 2011 highlights ATE centers’ creative responses to employers. The centers’ national and regional approaches provide practical solutions to issues that challenge both educators and employers. Their programs ensure that students enter the workforce having completed degrees or certificate programs that truly equip them with the knowledge and skills they and their employers need to succeed.