FLATE Focus

NSF ATE Opportunities for Educators and Students

I. STUDENT INNOVATION CHALLENGE

There is still about 1 month before submissions to the NSF Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC) close for 2018.  CCIC is a prestigious, two-stage competition where community college student teams use science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to innovate solutions to real-world problems, compete for cash awards, and earn full travel support (students and faculty) to attend an Innovation Boot Camp in Washington, D.C. The challenge is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). 2018 will be the 4^th year of this amazing challenge.

WHO: Teams of 3 to 5 community college students with an interest in STEM, innovation and entrepreneurism, and in making a difference, a faculty mentor and an industry partner.

WHEN: Submit from October 18, 2017, to February 14, 2018, by 11:59 p.m. EST.

Required Innovation Boot Camp for student finalists and their faculty mentor in Alexandria, VA, June 11-14, 2018.

WHERE: www.nsf.gov/communitycollege.

WHY: To foster the development of crucial innovation and entrepreneurial skills, gain confidence,
network, win prizes and learn skills to make real-world change.

Questions? Contact CCIC at innovationchallenge@nsf.gov. Follow CCIC: #CCIChallenge

II. CCTA ATE Program and Grant Writing 2018 Webinar Series

The Centers Collaborative for Technical Assistance (CCTA) NSF ATE project will be hosting a series of 4 webinars this spring focused on various aspects of preparing a grant proposal for the NSF ATE program.  The first of this series is scheduled for Thursday, February 16, 2018.  Learn more and register online: https://atecenters.org/upcoming-webinars/.

CCTA will also be offering a half day grant writing workshop at the 2018 League of Innovation Conference March 18-21 in National Harbor, MD. The session will be open to all conference attendees.  Look for more information in the conference program.

III. MENTOR-CONNECT

Mentor-Connect is a leadership development and outreach initiative for the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Program (ATE) led by the South Carolina Advanced Technological Education Center (SC ATE) at Florence-Darlington College. Mentor-Connect provides just-in-time knowledge transfer for STEM faculty including:

·         One-on-One Mentorship Opportunity

·         Faculty and Leadership Development

·         Technical Assistance

·         Resources

You can Apply to Mentor-Connect if you…

·         Work for a community college that has not benefited from National Science Foundation grant funding in the past 7 years.

·         Recognize that your college needs to develop or strengthen STEM technician education programs to meet industry needs.

·         Want assistance in preparing a competitive grant proposal for the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program.

Check the Mentor-Connect Website for the application period later this year.

IV. MENTORLINKS

The American Association of Community Colleges’ (AACC) MentorLinks program is designed to help colleges develop or strengthen technician training programs in STEM fields through mentoring, professional development opportunities, and technical assistance; to establish connections for colleges to identify new ideas and relationships through networking opportunities at program meetings and Advanced Technological Education (ATE) National Conferences; and to help colleges gain insight about support for building and sustaining new advanced technological education programs.

You can check out the 2017-2019 MentorLinks cohort to get a good idea about the program and if it might be right for your college program.  

V. HiTEC FELLOWS and HITEC CONFERENCE

The NSF ATE Community annually produces the High Impact Technology Exchange (HITEC) conference. This year will be our tenth year and the conference will be held right here in Florida (Two-year technical or community college faculty who have not previously attended HI-TEC are eligible to be selected as HI-TEC Fellows.  Through an online application process, faculty members apply for participation. Those who are selected are provided with a free conference registration plus 2 night’s lodging at the conference hotel (~$1,000 support per person to attend). The online HITEC fellowship application will be available in the coming weeks.

HITEC is now taking proposals for conference session submissions.  See the website for more details.

If you have any questions about these opportunities, please contact Dr. Marilyn Barger, Executive Director, FLATE (barger@fl-ate.org)