2022 Fall ET Forum Registration Open Now
Community college engineering technology faculty in Florida, register now to participate in this semiannual 2-day meeting.
Industry 4.0 Cyber-Physical Workshop
St Johns River State College
Dr. Jay Paterson, Dean of Workforce & Technical Education at St. Johns River State College, and his team hosted an Industry 4.0 Cyber-Physical Workshop on July 21st. The event was well attended by secondary and post-secondary educators, FLATE, workforce development, economic development, and state government representatives. Mike Nager was the Keynote speaker for the event and covered the history of Industry 4.0, smart manufacturing, Internet of Industrial Things Terminology, and key technologies used in Industry 4.0. Mike’s presentation covered complex concepts but was delivered at a level the entire audience could understand. The second half of the professional development day included hands-on labs provided by Steve Cercone, Program Consultant FL, at Bluegrass Educational Technologies, and the team from Festo. The hands-on labs included a demonstration of the use of augmented reality, the power of the manufacturing execution system, and key manufacturing metrics. The presentation and hands-on demonstrations provided the audience with a well-rounded view of what Industry 4.0 is and how we can prepare our students for the new technologies. 
2022 FACTE Annual Conference & Trade Show
Every year FLATE partners with the Florida Association for the Career and Technical Education (FACTE), the Florida Association of Industrial Technical Education (FAITE), and the Florida Career Pathways Network (FCPN), to support and provide top-quality professional learning opportunities, educational resources, and share best practices for career and technical (CTE) educators in Florida.
 
The 56th FACTE annual conference and trade show, held July 18-20, 2022, in Ponte Vedra Beach was a success, hosting approximately 600 participants, 43 vendors, and more than 122 parallel sessions representing all areas of CTE education. The July 18th pre-conference activities with FAITE included a tour of the Automation and technology programs at the Florida State College of Jacksonville (FSCJ) and TNT manufacturing. FLATE’s most popular and well-attended presentations included the FLATE 2022 Best Practice Award Winners Panel, where award winners shared their experiences, best practices, and significant contributions in support of STEM, engineering technology, and industrial/manufacturing education in Florida.
 FLATE Presents at the 2022 HI-TEC Conference
HI-TEC is a national conference on advanced technological education where secondary and postsecondary educators, counselors, industry professionals, trade organizations, and technicians can update their knowledge and skills. Charged with preparing America’s skilled technical workforce, the event focuses on the preparation needed by the existing and future workforce in the high-tech sectors that drive our nation’s economy. FLATE gave three presentations at the 2022 HI-TEC Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, July 25-28:

  • Women’s Perceptions of Problem-Solving In a Virtual Learning Environment
  • CTE Graduate Trends by Program Visualized Instantly!
  • Integrating Industry 4.0 into Manufacturing Technician Curriculum.
MFG 2022 - Making Manufacturing Careers
Manufacturing Day - October 7, 2022
Since 2012, Manufacturing Day/Month has grown across the nation with the goal of inspiring the future manufacturing workforce. Now celebrated all year long, the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center (FLATE), FloridaMakes and the Regional Manufacturers Associations (RMAs) provide support to our Manufacturers and our Educators to plan student tours and other events to showcase our manufacturing industry. Plan your event on Manufacturing Day, the 1st Friday in October, or any other day to introduce students to manufacturing and its many great careers. 

You can participate in plant tours, in-person or virtual, manufacturing roundtables and other special events in October and all year with Florida's students! Manufacturers and Educators interested in offering student tours or planning a custom event, reach out to your Regional Manufacturing Association (RMA). Find the contact information for your county as well as promotional materials including posters, logos and FLATE's Best Practice Guide for Industry Tours at http://madeinflorida.org/manufacturing-day.
STEM from Dance Summer Camp at USF
The University of South Florida (USF) College of Engineering Mechanical Engineering Department, under the leadership of Dr. Nancy Diaz-Elsayed, hosted a 3-week summer STEM from Dance camp for middle school girls. The thirteen girls from around Hillsborough County attended the camp spending their mornings learning to code wearables in the mornings and their afternoons learning and practicing a variety of dance moves. Part of this national program is to have invited guest speakers talk to the girls about their STEM careers. Dr. Barger, FLATE Senior Educational Advisor, said that it was an honor to address the young STEM Dancers at USF and share their enthusiasm for all that they were learning.
 
The camp culminated with a dance production that showcases both what they have learned in dance and STEM. The STEM coding activities included programming strips of multicolor LED lights that ultimately be part of their “costumes” for the final performance as belts, hair decorations, tierras, and more! Be on the lookout for information about the 2023 STEM from Dance Summer camp at USF.
Upcoming Events
Save the Date for FLATE SpeedNetworking Near You
Manufacturing Education 5k
Saturday, October 29, 2022

Join us for the 7th Annual Manufacturing 5K Run or Walk for Education to show your support for Manufacturing Education.
The past six events have netted over $136,000 in scholarships for deserving engineering and manufacturing workplace students.

Details and registration:
News & Opportunities
Engineering Technology/Advanced Manufacturing Instructor Vacancy - Chipola College - Fall 2022
Inquiries may be directed to Human Resources at chabotn@chipola.edu or (850)718-2205. Completed application, resume, and college transcripts should be submitted to: Chipola College Human Resources 3094 Indian Circle Marianna, FL 32446
Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs 2023 Summer Camp
Grant Application Open
Does your school offer a manufacturing-related degree program or curriculum? If so, your school may be eligible to receive grant funding to host a 2023 Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs® (NBT) summer manufacturing camp. Help middle and high school students develop hands-on skills and discover prosperous careers in the manufacturing industry by hosting a camp.

Camp hosts receive:
•   Up to $2,500 in grant funding
•   Customized T-shirts featuring your school and your camp sponsor logos
•   The opportunity to forge relationships with manufacturers in the community 
•   Entrepreneurship curriculum guides for campers and instructors
•   365-day licenses for the student version of SolidWorks software
•   Marketing materials and additional support as needed throughout the process
•  Opportunities to promote your manufacturing programs to your future students 
The New-to-ATE Two-Year STEM Faculty Mentorship Application is now Available
Apply to participate in Cohort 11 (October 2022- October 2023)
 
The goal of Mentor-Connect, supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) is to develop or strengthen technician education programs in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.
 
Two-year college teams consisting of two STEM faculty from each applicant college and at least one administrator and/or grant writer will be selected to receive National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) grant proposal development and submission assistance. Colleges who participate in Mentor-Connect's Mentorship program can increase their chances of being awarded a grant up to $350,000, designated as a "Small Grant for Institutions new to ATE." 
 
College teams selected for Mentor-Connect are expected to attend two, in- person workshops: winter and summer workshops. Faculty travel support is provided for both workshops. Colleges are also expected to work with an assigned mentor from the winter workshop through the October 2023 ATE proposal submission date. Mentors will be on-hand to provide guidance and feedback throughout the grant development process. Only one application per college is allowed in response to this Call for Applications. For more information, questions, or inquires, contact us at Mentor-Connect@fdtc.edu, or visit our website, www.mentor-connect.org.

Application Deadline: Friday, October 7, 2022
Notification of Selection: Friday, November 11, 2022
Florida Career Pathways Network (FCPN)
2023 Conference Call for Presenters
Save the Date! The 2023 FCPN Symposium is planned for the Hutchinson Shores Resort and Spa in Jensen Beach on January 11-13, 2023. We are currently accepting submissions for Best Practice Presentations for our 45-Minute Breakout Sessions. These Sessions represent the core of the symposium offerings and feature a successful practice, program, or key issue. Each may include up to 3 presenters.
Resources
Coding & More Monthly Newletter
Artificial Intelligence for K-12
Coding and More, is a personalized Edtech company that teaches AI and Coding to children in K-12, provides monthly newsletters to share interesting AI resources. Coding and More believes that learning should be fun! When a child links AI to his/her favorite subject or a personal hobby - as educators know - it ignites the spark.
Join the National Science Foundation
 'Science Happens' Social Media Campaign
NSF is inviting you — our community — to participate in showcasing the amazing science, engineering, innovation, STEM education, cutting-edge research facilities, future workforce and more that is powered by NSF. These stories are happening in communities across the country and around the world.  The goal is to highlight the amazing people and stories that are part of our community and share them more widely.  

In the toolkit, click on 'downloadable graphics' to add your own photo like this one we created for Eastern Florida State College. Or you can simply post your photo or video on any social media platform, tag your location and include #NSFstories in your post.
FLATE Resources