The Forum on Engineering
Technology (ET Forum) has served as an important vehicle for bringing together
Florida’s diverse and geographically dispersed community. FLATE works with the
Forum to strengthen the consortium, share its administrative activities and
projects, provide professional development, bring industry and academia
together, and engage in statewide curriculum reform. Over the years, it has
become a true community of practice. The Forum meets twice a year; and since
1996 has convened thirty-one times at over 19 different Florida colleges.
The most recent, 33rd
ET Forum was held at the Advanced Technology Center at Gulf Coast State
College
(GCSC). In keeping with
the theme of the Forum, Advancing Technology,
the Forum included discussion about curriculum and industry certifications,
economic development, and FL DOE updates. Thirty-eight attendees from 15
colleges convened at GCSC for a two-day meeting on Sept. 25 and 26. Topics
included new technical trends in education, curriculum issues, accelerated
credit articulations, articulations with the military, and tracking graduating
ET students into the workforce.
At the Forum, FLATE held
a professional development workshop addressing successful working models for
recruiting high school students (especially girls). Among the several working
models for secondary student connection, the most effective were: Tallahassee
Community College’s dual enrollment program, Polk State College’s high school
advisory committee, St. Petersburg College’s Lab Share with local high schools,
and FLATE’s “Engineering Technology Experience” at Hillsborough Community
College. “These programs generate ET interest among secondary students which
supplies the enrollment pipeline for college programs” said Dr. Marie Boyette,
associate director of FLATE who was attending the Forum.
The brainstorming
“think-pair-share” activity encouraged participants to think outside-the-box
and identify an ideal collaboration/recruitment process for secondary students
which could potentially lead to increased enrollment and include a focus on
girls. Core themes included more traditional approaches such as outreach to
girls by female mentors employed in the advanced manufacturing industry, and a
focus on engineering and technology as helping professions. Other novel ideas
included fabrication projects for girls in collaboration with industry partners,
and the idea of recruitment of girls by teams of male students! Consensus was
reached on the importance of seeding programs with scholarships. Participants
returning surveys at the end of the workshop indicated they would be sharing what
they learned in the workshop with colleagues, and/or use an activity or
strategy from the workshop in their work.
As is the case with all
ET Forums, participants are surveyed for effectiveness to ensure that the
Forum
continues to meet attendee needs. Two events at this Forum ranked highest with
overall ratings of 4.9 out of a possible 5 (Excellent). Those included updates provided
by Richard “Ted” Norman who serves as Florida's
Career and Adult Education State Supervisor for Manufacturing, Transportation,
Distribution & Logistics at FL DOE. The other was the tour of GCSC’s new
Advanced Technology Center “where innovation, business, and education thrive.”
100% of survey responders reported they intended to use information presented at
the ET Forum. Attendees walked away with ideas for “development and
modification of manufacturing programs specific to industry needs” and reported
that “the networking resulted in partnerships with various colleges.”
The Florida
Engineering Technology Leadership Council and the Engineering Technology Forum
was established in April 1997 at Seminole Community College (now Seminole State
College). Membership includes department heads and the leaders of the
Technology programs in the State of Florida.
Since 2009, the ET Forum has served over 400 participants at this
bi-annual statewide meeting where Engineering Technology college faculty, program
managers, workforce and economic development personnel, the Florida Department
of Education (FL DOE) and related college technology educators and
administrators can bring common issues to the table for discussion, share
resources, and learn.
Half of Florida’s
community and state colleges (14 out of 28) regularly attend these meetings,
making them a nexus not only for raising awareness, but for mobilizing discussions
into actions. The ET Forum also provides a venue for collecting information
about ET students. FLATE conducts survey, collects data and compiles
information that it shares with Forum members who are interested in recruiting
new students and/or capture how ET students have used their degree to augment
professional aspirations.
The next ET Forum will
be traveling for the first time to the Florida Keys and hosted at Florida Keys
Community College on April 9th and 10th. For more
information on the Forum and/or A.S.E.T degree visit http://fl-ate.org/projects/et-forum.html.
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