• CT Community Colleges' College of Technology

Hartford, CT

• Professional development for faculty and teachers that includes industry externships, seminars, workshops, expos, and professional conferences.

• Curricula in new and emerging technologies responding to workforce needs.

• 2 + 2 + 2 seamless career pathways.

• Resources and leadership to improve existing programs as well as the establishment of new programs in advanced manufacturing and related technologies.

• Career marketing materials distributed regionally and nationally to secondary and community college educators as well as parents, industry, government agencies, and policy makers.

Center Builds Overall Enrollment, Participation of Underrepresented Minorities

RCNGM’s aggressive marketing efforts, which include the production and distribution of a nationally recognized career pathway DVD, are formidable and systemic. Since the center’s creation in 2004, enrollments in COT science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs have increased from 2,865 to 3,913 students in 2009. From 2004 through 2009 the number of women enrolled in STEM programs increased from 540 to 630; the number of Hispanic students increased from 666 to 944; and the number of Black students increased from 310 to 407.

Since 2006, 355 students have participated in an Engineering Challenge for the 21st Century program that uses real-world problems to teach technical and professional skills such as teamwork and time management. RCNGM’s outreach activities have also directly affected 40,000 students since 2004. Through its many collaborations with industry, 30 new programs and 65 new courses have been developed and implemented by the center since 2004. All of them prepare students for the advanced technology workforce.

Summer Workshops Excite Teachers, Then Students about Engineering

Teachers from 15 states and Puerto Rico have learned new technologies and pedagogy at the Teachers’ Engineering Challenge, a week-long residential workshop that RCNGM co-sponsors with the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (USCGA). As a result of the 5-day summer workshops, the teachers have incorporated engineering into their instruction of more than 5,000 students.

Center Develops Manufacturing Workforce with Industry Partners

The RCNGM works dynamically with regional and national partners to improve manufacturing practices essential for keeping the U.S. competitive in today’s global economy. To achieve its goals, RCNGM works closely with key stakeholders: community college administrators, faculty members, high school educators, and industry partners. The center utilizes its industry partnerships to inform educators about cutting-edge technologies and to help them teach the nation’s next generation of top-performing technicians and engineers.

The distribution of more than 4,000 Manufacture Your Future DVDs and Manufacture Your Future Teacher’s Guide has increased students’ awareness of career opportunities within Connecticut’s manufacturing workforce. RCNGM’s multimedia encouragement of students to pursue careers in advanced manufacturing is a factor in increasing COT enrollments. RCNGM has integrated proven strategies to engage and sustain underrepresented populations in the delivery of statewide and regional expos, Saturday outreach programs, peer mentoring, and industry-driven curriculum that addresses real-world problems.

The center maximizes its impact through business, industry, professional and organizational partners such as the 10,000-member Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, the National Association of Workforce Improvement, the Office of Workforce Competitiveness, Department of Labor, and Department of Economic Development. Through its partnership with CBIA, for instance, RCNGM placed 130 educators with advanced manufacturing companies for 4-week externships. All the instructors gained new insights about how to prepare students for today’s advanced manufacturing workforce. Following their externships, they implemented new curricula and classroom activities using real-world, hands-on design projects.