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Student Summit Event Series

Inspiring high school students to pursue manufacturing and engineering careers.

The SME Education Foundation inspires, prepares and supports the next generation of manufacturing and engineering talent.

The first step in developing the next generation of talent is to inspire students to consider manufacturing as a career choice. The SME Education Foundation Student Summit event series showcases the high-tech nature of modern manufacturing and effectively fights the misperception that manufacturing is dull, dirty and dying.

Hosted alongside SME conferences and events, each of these one-day summits held over three days are designed to provide high school students with their first taste of manufacturing by delivering student-centric programming that features keynote speakers, hands-on competitions, technology demonstrations, and guided show-floor tours of exhibiting manufacturing companies. 

Inspiring the Next Generation Workforce

Student summits are designed to expose high school students, oftentimes for the first time, to cutting edge manufacturing technology and introduce them to the leading companies and individuals driving transformational change within industry. If you’re an educator looking for an opportunity to provide your students with an eye-opening, engaging experience in the world of manufacturing or an enterprise looking to “pay it forward” and inspire the next generation, we’re here to help.

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Student Summits took place in 2021

894

Students from 30 high schools attended our student summits in 2021

148

Student-Friendly Exhibitors inspired students at our student summits in 2021

1000+

Student Summit attendees became SME student members

 

Summit Programming

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Hands-on Competitions

Students engage in hands-on competitions designed to teach them about manufacturing technologies while using skills learned in their classroom to achieve desired outcomes.
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Guided Show-Floor Tours

Students and their teachers have the opportunity to see the high-tech nature of modern manufacturing at Student Summits hosted alongside SME conferences and events across North America.
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Keynote Speakers

Students gain perspectives on manufacturing technologies, career pathways and the industry from notable industry speakers during each opening session of the Student Summit event series.

Upcoming Student Summits

View all of our upcoming student summits taking place in 2022. Give your students the experience of attending an SME event showcasing the high-tech nature of modern manufacturing.

Student Summit Highlights

Learn why our Student Summit Event Series at SME events across the country inspire students to pursue manufacturing and engineering careers.
“My students really enjoyed the interaction with the drone building time and they were taken back by all the vendors and their willingness to talk to them about the trade. ”
Tate Ostiguy, Bay Path is Advanced Manufacturing Instructor