Industry 4.0 ushered in new technologies, new products and new ways of working. It's imperative that high schools keep pace with the skills they teach students to prepare them for the manufacturing workforce. SME PRIME schools give manufacturing students a head start, as they inspire them to use and test the skills they learn in the classroom during regular class projects as well as occasional special assignments.
The SME Education Foundation awarded 222 scholarships totaling nearly $550,000 to graduating high school seniors, undergraduates and graduate students currently or planning to attend colleges, universities across the United States and Canada.
The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan has been instrumental in the SME PRIME schools’ program in two Southeast Michigan communities. Since its inception in 1984, the Foundation has distributed more than $1 billion through more than 67,000 grants to nonprofit organizations.
Greg Smith earned the 2019 SME Directors Scholarship based on accomplishments that included decades of welding experience and a solid skill set build around his passion for engineering. Today, Greg is a graduate of Utah’s Weber State University and in the beginning stages of his career at the Ogden, Utah division of Barnes Aerospace as a Special Process Engineer.
This is the second in a series of two blogs focused on manufacturing misperceptions, Industry 4.0 and the next generation of manufacturers.
An SME PRIME school investor, the Honda of America Manufacturing operation in Anna, Ohio (producing engines since 1985), works with nearby Anna High School in a partnership forged through the SME Education Foundation.
Whitehall High School students explore manufacturing while learning about the engineering process as they train on Dremel 3D40 3D printers and tour local manufacturing companies during class field trips.
Grand Haven High School’s manufacturing education program includes multiple career pathways, each made possible through input, engagement and investment from local manufacturing partner, Shape Corp.
The WESTEC 2019 Student Summit will host over 200 high school students and introduce them to the high tech and exciting career available in the modern manufacturing industry through hands-on challenges and competitions, guided event show-floor tours and technology demonstrations, and inspirational industry guest speakers.
The pre-engineering students at Grand Haven High School get a wealth of experience from the SME PRIME program through technical training and tailored curriculum informed by local manufacturing partner Shape Corp.