Exhibitor participation in SME’s Bright Minds Student Summits, hosted alongside SME manufacturing conferences and events, not only helps students, it’s also beneficial to exhibitors.
One hundred students showed their passion for additive manufacturing while competing for prizes at the 2025 Additive Manufacturing Competition, held in Atlanta during the 61st annual SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference in June.
Students, educators and attendees at RAPID + TCT, AeroDef Manufacturing and SME FUSION — held simultaneously in Detroit in April — got a glimpse into the future of advanced manufacturing technologies and industry-education collaboration.
Kai Collins, an 18-year-old student in the Pavlis Honors College at Michigan Technological University, joined the SME Bright Minds Student Mentorship Program — part of the SME Education Foundation’s Community of Scholars initiative — because he wanted to develop his networking skills.
The 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐔𝐒𝐀 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬, part of the National Leadership & Skills Conference, showcase top talents from 6,000 U.S. students in over 100 competitions in partnership with the SME Education Foundation. This event highlights the skill, leadership, and massive collaborative effort.
Vanessa Ng and Mohammad Mohammad — students at Westmount Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario — saw manufacturing technology in action and learned from leading manufacturers at the Bright Minds Student Summit, held in late September at SME’s CMTS event in Toronto.