A newly established scholarship fund for students in underrepresented communities is a crucial component of the SME Education Foundation’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, designed to fully integrate diversity and equity opportunities in every program, effort and initiative undertaken by the foundation over the next five years.
The SME Education Foundation works to inspire, prepare and support an advanced manufacturing workforce through education. Through building awareness of opportunity, enhancing academic opportunity and directly helping students at every level, the SME Education Foundation works to offer students a path to explore, learn and grow in fields associated with manufacturing.
Learn how the SME Education Foundation advances manufacturing education through our Student Summit event series, SME PRIME initiative and Student Scholarship program.
Jim Weber, welding and machining instructor at Capital High School in Helena, Montana, and Demetrius Anthony, lead manufacturing engineering teacher at Hollenstein Career and Technology Center in Fort Worth, Texas, were among the 2017 recipients of the William Dahlgren Award presented by the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering Foundation.
Racine Case High School in Wisconsin has transformed their SME PRIME program by creating a machine-repair career pathway, implementing new courses, and providing students with training experience using a Festo equipment training system.
Filling manufacturing jobs is a growing challenge across the country. Nearly 2.5 million manufacturing jobs will go unfilled in the United States by 2030. Launched in May 2023, the Edwardsburg PRIME program is an important step to help strengthen the Southwest Michigan labor force and fill future manufacturing positions.
The SME Education Foundation annually awards millions of dollars in scholarships to graduating high school seniors, undergraduates and graduate students pursuing two-year, four-year or advanced degrees in manufacturing or engineering.