SME Youth Funding

Manufacturing Engineering, Mar 2007

SME Education Foundation (Dearborn, MI) has committed $900,000 in 2007 to youth programs that expose students to the possibilities of manufacturing and engineering careers. The funding will support Science, Technology and Engineering Preview Summer (STEPS) Camps and Academies as well as Project Lead the Way's (PLTW) "Gateway to Technology" middle school curriculum.

The SME Education Foundation's 2007 funding will support STEPS Academies and PLTW's Gateway to Technology programs in 13 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin. In addition, the SME Education Foundation is partnering with the Silver Crescent Foundation to create two STEPS Academies and PLTW programs in South Carolina. The Foundation's funding will also support nine STEPS camps in five states: Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

In 2007, Michigan will host four STEPS Camps with the support of Automation Alley. Michigan's STEPS Camps will be held at the University of Detroit Mercy, Gogebic Community College, Central Michigan University, and Oakland Community College.