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Students Explore Advanced Technology While Learning Employability Skills at a Unique After School Program

They could have spent their April school break week sleeping late, watching TV, texting friends. Instead, 10 teens chose to participate in the Technology & Engineering Challenge Program at Manchester Community College.

At least one of the students now has a new career direction: "I think I may want to be an engineer," said Patience Trice, a junior at A.I. Prince Technical High School.

Piquing the interest of high school students in engineering and technology careers was, in fact, the whole point of the Technology & Engineering Challenge Program. Through the program, high-achieving juniors and seniors in the machine-tool programs at Prince and Cheney technical high schools spent four days at the college exploring technologies and engineering, team building, leadership, and technical writing. Students from Manchester Community College also participated as team members and mentors for the high school students.

Students participated in hands-on activities and labs that emphasized critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They also learned how to understand wiring diagrams, and how to write concise, focused lab reports and related documentation. They were introduced to fiber optics and lasers, as well as to professional skills such as personal accountability and understanding human behavior in a diverse workplace. And they visited the technology center at the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology (CCAT) in East Hartford.  Participants who completed all program components received a $300 stipend.

Designed and run by the Birch Group LLC, the Challenge Program was coordinated by CBIA's Education Foundation in cooperation with the Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, a program of the Connecticut Community College System's College of Technology. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation.

 


The Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing is funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education program. Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.