Winter came just a little too quickly for me and I am sure to many of you as well.

With the pandemic still impacting all of us, the Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence has been busy with virtual events. Earlier in the fall, the Engineering Center provided opportunities for free virtual professional development to industry and academia. The Engineering and Manufacturing Workforce Partnership Seminar brought training and awareness around apprenticeship and competency-based education. In the Engineering and Engineering Technology STEM Educator Workshop, post-secondary instructors shared content about course objectives, testing, ethics, and course cheating. Both of these programs will be repeated in the spring but with different content. Come and join us!

In supporting educators in this new virtual environment, we have been working on multiple engineering exploration resources. The free Engineering Design Challenge Modules are challenges where users grades 3rd and up will learn about relevant Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) principles as they compete. In a joint venture with the other Centers of Excellence, the Minnesota State Centers of Excellence Teacher Training Institute provides professional development opportunity for all types of educators teaching STEM related courses or out-of-school programs. The six webinars started September 16th and will conclude December 2, taking place the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month. They feature ready to implement activities and resources with guidance for implementing in virtual and distance learning settings. This series is designed to help educators inspire interest in students and set them on the right track to pursue career pathways that lead to high-demand (and high-pay in many cases) jobs in Minnesota.

Through the rest of this year and going into next year, we are involved in multiple virtual events to share our programming. Finally, the Engineering Center is sponsoring a virtual Middle Grades STEM Teacher Training for middle grades STEM project-based curriculum developed by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). SREB is the nation’s largest school improvement network. This three-day, three project professional development training is appropriate for school districts’ 5th-9th grades and is very low cost. Registration deadline is January 7, 2021.

In these changing times, we continue to adopt and adapt new ways of doing things. We are excited for what the future holds and continue to find ways to support the engineering and engineering technology workforce of tomorrow.

All the Best,