OAI to host Ohio STEM Call-To-Action Forum

Cleveland – The Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI), in partnership with the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), will host the Ohio STEM Call-To-Action Forum Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 1-2, 2014, at OAI’s headquarters, 22800 Cedar Point Road, Cleveland, Ohio.

 

This forum is designed to increase collaboration in Ohio to enhance and expand the education and training of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) future workforce, and to share best practices and lessons learned with people from around the country looking to increase collaboration and grow state STEM networks. Participants will identify opportunities for alignment and partnership to advance STEM education and cultivate the 21st century workforce.

 

“Our country’s aerospace industry is the best in the world, and it needs a STEM-educated workforce to maintain that lead. All sectors and organizations with a stake in STEM education and workforce development are invited to participate,” said Dr. Michael Heil, president and CEO, OAI.

 

“Ohio’s STEM programs have consistently demonstrated powerful collaboration among education, industry, and government entities working together to better prepare the future workforce. That is the primary reason we have selected to meet in Cleveland, to showcase the state’s initiatives,” added Peter Larson, AIA STEM Workforce working group chair and director, Engineering Workforce, The Boeing Company.

 

Special guests for the program include Barbara Snyder, president, Case Western Reserve University; Aimee Kennedy, vice president, education and STEM learning, Battelle; Michael Hripko, deputy director, workforce and educational outreach, National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining; John Hairston, district director, 11th District Congressional Office and Warrensville Heights; and Dr. Kevin Geiss, director, human effectiveness directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory. 

 

This forum is made possible through support from leading aerospace and defense companies, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, said Ed Swallow, Chair, NDIA STEM Workforce Division.

 

The forum will include a NASA Glenn Research Center tour and reception open to all pre-paid participants, including educators and students. Break-out sessions and topic areas will include employer perspectives, innovation approaches to K-12 STEM education, higher education initiatives, STEM outside the classroom and reaching underrepresented students.

 

The cost to attend the forum is $25 for educators, $50 for government and academia and $100 for industry. Register online under the NDIA’s Meetings & Events tab or contact Camille Briggs via email at CBriggs@NDIA.org. Detailed information can also be found under the Events section of www.oai.org.