The 52nd state-wide Forum on Engineering Technology was held on April 4-5, 2024. Thank you to the State College of Florida (SCF) in Bradenton, FL for hosting! The forum was well attended with 66 participants, including 36 from 17 Florida state and community colleges and two universities as well as representatives from Florida manufacturers and other partner organizations.
The Forum on Engineering Technology (ET Forum) has served as an important vehicle for bringing together Florida’s diverse and geographically dispersed community with common issues and challenges. With the support of the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), FLATE works with the ET Forum network to strengthen the consortium, share its administrative activities and projects, provide professional development, bring industry and academia together, and engage in statewide FDOE curriculum frameworks review and reform. Over the years, it has become a true community of practice.
The Forum meets twice a year and has convened fifty-two times, at 25 different Florida colleges. The ET Forum, with FLATE guidance and leadership, continues to grow strong by recruiting interested colleges, hosting industry professionals from companies near the host institution, providing professional development for emerging and relevant technologies, participating in FDOE statewide curriculum frameworks reform and change related to ET disciplines, and providing extensive networking and opportunities for sharing and collaboration amongst colleges.
The Spring ET Forum included two days filled with key topics, discussions, and updates. At SCF, the participants were greeted by Pepper, the SCF Coding Robot. On the first day, topics included:
- Roundtable discussion on recruiting faculty, adjuncts, and students, best practices for advisory committees, and faculty loads
- Update on SETIAB – the State Engineering Technology Industry Advisory Board
- Education vendor Roundtable discussion on current technical education trends
- Engineering Technology college program updates
- Industry/Economic/Workforce Panel on work-based learning, industry certification and connecting with educators
- Tour of the SCF Engineering Technology facilities and labs
- Update on FloridaMakes and the State of Manufacturing in Florida
- FDOE reported on new program developments including the updated CPalms.org site - the State of Florida's official online toolbox source for standards information, curriculum modules, and course descriptions
- Associate of Science in Engineering Technology core standards - suggestions and potential revisions were reviewed/discussed.
The SETIAB (Statewide Engineering Technology Industry Advisory Board) met following the ET Forum. Attendance included 15 industry voting members and 16 educational partner non-voting members. The Board discussed and approved the new ASET "Advanced Automation" Specialization standards. A full report will be included in the May FLATE Focus.
The 2nd day of the forum continued with the discussion of classroom technology, followed by NSF Grant updates (including a discussion on updating Florida’s ET pathways), and college program updates. Also on day 2, distinguished guest speakers and key relevant topics included:
- Operation K-12 Cyber Florida, University of South Florida
- University of North Florida’s BS in Advanced Manufacturing
- AmSkills Articulations
The Florida Engineering Technology Forum serves as a model organization for other disciplines and career clusters in Florida as well as technical disciplines in other states. Presentation and recordings are available at
ET Forum Google Drive and
FLATE.PBWorks/Presentations.
Of the 16 evaluation survey responses received (13 in-person and 3 virtual attendees), nearly 80% (13) of respondents agreed that the Forum offered excellent overall professional development and networking value and 100% of the survey responders (16) would recommend the Forum to others.
Special thanks to our Sponsors! The ET Forum could not happen without our educational vendors:
- Technical Training Aids
- SMC International Training
- Bluegrass Educational Technologies, LLC
- FESTO
- D.C. Jaeger Corporation
- Southern Educational Systems
- Learning Labs
For more information on the Forum and/or ASET degree visit
https://fl-ate.org/programs/e-t-forum/ The Fall 2024 ET Forum will be held September 26-27, 2024 at Palm Beach State College.
