July FLATE Focus: The Latest News, Events and Resources

Spotlight on our 2023 FLATE Award Winners

Awardees will be recognized at the FACTE Annual Conference and Trade Show in Orlando, FL July 18, 2023 at the FLATE Educator Best Practice Award Winners Panel - see Agenda for details!

Orville Dothage III Wins FLATE 2023 Distinguished Manufacturing Partner-of-the-Year

Congratulations to Orville Dothage III, Senior Manager at Northrop Grumman in St. Augustine, FL for his outstanding contributions to promote technology education and career awareness in support of manufacturing! Orville has worked in the aerospace industry for more than 35 years. Throughout his career, he has enjoyed the opportunity to connect and collaborate with innovative thinkers working with cutting-edge technology. Orville’s contributions have driven program success for the betterment of our warfighters. He has been successful at multi-tasking millions of dollars cost and schedule commitments.

Orville is committed to mentoring the next generation workforce. Key contributions in this area include the development of continuing education partnership programs with Goodwill Industries of California and Florida, High School Involvement partnership programs and STEM events tied to National Manufacturing Day/Florida Manufacturing Month. The most recent endeavor involves for the first time a high school paid internship to produce the next generation of aircraft builders.

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The Manufacturers Association of Central Florida

wins FLATE 2023 Most Innovative

Manufacturing Student Event Award

Congratulations to the Manufacturers Association of Central Florida (MACF), the winner of the FLATE award for their 3rd Annual Made in Central Florida Expo and Student Design & Build Competition which was held at the Orlando Rosen Center in October 2022. The event featured over 100 employees from 27 local manufacturers in the Expo and a design and build student competition impacting over 250 students. Thirty-five (35) Middle and High Schools competed in the Design and Build Competition from Orange, Osceola, Lake, and Seminole school districts.

The expo provided an opportunity for manufacturing companies to set up exhibits for students, parents, teachers, counselors, and other industry partners to learn more about career opportunities. Middle and high school students had the opportunity to participate in a Design and Build Competition, designing and executing a mechanical pump to move water from one bucket to another. There were also presentations by industry partners to students and counselors about the manufacturing industry, and a manufacturing panel discussion for students to ask questions of industry leaders about career opportunities.

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USF and Truist Foundation Launch Smart Manufacturing Certificate Program in East Tampa

Dr. Marilyn Barger, Senior Educator Advisor at FLATE, presented to students in the first manufacturing training program cohort for this certificate on June 1, 2023. USF received a $684,000 grant awarded by Truist Foundation to launch the smart manufacturing certificate program in East Tampa. USF is collaborating with several organizations, including the Florida Advanced Technological Education (FLATE) Center – a part of the FloridaMakes network, the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council (EDC), and the Florida High Tech Corridor, to offer this certificate program in East Tampa.

The program fosters streamlined pathways to existing employment opportunities within Tampa Bay’s growing manufacturing sector. Florida has experienced the 2nd highest growth in manufacturing jobs across the nation. Companies in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties contribute more than 60,000 jobs to the sector. The certificate is designed to introduce participants to additive and subtractive manufacturing, programmable logic controllers, assembly and production systems, robotics and automation, computer aided design; and impart knowledge related to factory operations, smart technologies, and industrial electronics.

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2023 Manufacturing and Engineering Career Fair

University of South Florida - August 16, 2023

The 2023 Manufacturing and Engineering Career Fair will be hosted on August 16, 2023, from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM at USF to introduce the above certificate program.

We’re inviting manufacturers in the Tampa Bay - Metropolitan area to showcase their companies, connect with local talent and contribute to the growth and advancement of the manufacturing industry in Florida. For more information or if interested in sponsorship opportunities, you can reach out to Saad Amjad at amjadm@usf.edu.

Upcoming Events

FLATE PLC Educator Workshop

College of Central Florida - August 3-4

A basic PLC workshop for community college faculty: two days of training including a list of practice programs. Monthly virtual sessions September - December for ongoing support and training.

Overview of Allen-Bradley SLC 500 PLC Software and Hardware
Connection to PLC
Basic Relay Logic & Basic PLC Logic
Basic Programming using bit Logic
Timing Registers
Counter Registers
Basic TAG Development
Basic Relay Programming with tags
Creation of internal bits

Free one-year LogixPro software license and $200 Stipend. Hotel for August 3rd provided for those travelling more than 50 miles.

Join the Florida Association for Industrial and Technical Educators (FAITE) Sessions at the FACTE Conference!

Membership in FAITE is open to all Industrial & Technical Educators. FAITE meets twice a year as a group at the CTE Joint Conference and the annual FACTE Conference and Trade Show.

NCyTE Center Cyber Security Across Disciplines

2-day Workshop for Community College Educators

August 1-2 | Palos Hills, IL

For community/technical college faculty who want to integrate cybersecurity into their programs. Travel stipend available to eligible faculty (more than 60 miles from event).

Held at the Hamm Institute for American Energy in Oklahoma City, Ok - September 27-29, 2023. The conference brings together educational professionals and industrial experts in mechatronics, robotics, and other electromechanical fields. Early Bird Registration is now open with EB prices until June 30. Presentation submission deadline also June 30.

8^th Annual 5K for Manufacturing Education

Safety Harbor, FL - October 21, 2023

As manufacturing technology advances, finding talent to sustain these improvements becomes more challenging. To address this need, we invite you to join us for the 8th annual 5K for Manufacturing Education. This year’s Halloween-themed event “Ghouls for Tools” encourages entrants in costume and promises to be a lot of fun! Our past 7 events have yielded over $167,000 for manufacturing career seekers! For sponsorship opportunities, contact marketing@mastercuttool.com.

Opportunities

ATMAE Student Challenge

Win up to $500 per Team Member

The Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) invites all undergraduate students to submit a creative, inspirational video of 1 to 3 minutes that will inspire employers to seek/hire graduates of and current students enrolled in ATMAE-accredited programs. Students can submit individually or as a team of up to 4 students and they do not have to be an ATMAE student member to participate!

To compete and enter to win

Fall 2023 PocketLab Pilot Study for Middle School Science Teachers - $500-$800 Stipend + Equipment

Participating teachers will be randomized into the PocketLab group or the control group. PocketLab teachers will be asked to use PocketLab G-Force sensors and the PocketLab Notebook with their students to complete classroom activities focused on concepts of forces and motion. Control group teachers will be asked to teach these topics as they normally do and will have the option to use PocketLab with their students at the conclusion of the study. Participants will receive either $500 or $800 (Control group or not), a one-year license to PocketLab Notebook Pro ($150 value), and your choice of a PocketLab Voyager sensor ($198 value) or a PocketLab G-Force sensor ($129 value).

Apply for WestED Fall 2023 Pilot

Solar Plus Storage Institute - August 1 - 3, 2023

Madison Area Technical College (WI) - $600 Stipend + Hotel

Workshop will cover how to install and commission a residential size solar photovoltaic array with battery storage and how to integrate this system with electric vehicle charging stations. Use the hands-on lessons provided during the institute in your classroom and give your students an introduction to this booming industry. Provided to attendees: Breakfast & Lunch, Hotel accommodations (2 nights), $600 stipend.

Apply here

Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs provides scholarships for students pursuing degrees leading to manufacturing careers Applications for Spring 2024 Open Now

In 2022, NBT awarded $95,000 in scholarship awards to 62 students pursuing degrees in manufacturing industry-related fields of study. NBT’s manufacturing camp program achieved new levels of success by supporting 165 camps across 26 U.S. states.

There are other scholarships available to support manufacturing students. Be sure to check with your local school and Regional Manufacturing Association (RMA) for other scholarships available to you! Find a list of RMA's HERE !

Apply for Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs Scholarships

News & Resources

Women now fill 30% of Manufacturing Jobs!

From the July MSSC Newsletter: Women now occupy about 30% of the nation's 12.1 million jobs in manufacturing, according to census figures, but the sector continues to lag behind many others. Industry expert Lisa Caldwell, of Ernst & Young, writes in this commentary about why manufacturing is an increasingly attractive option for women and how women are bringing varied perspectives that benefit the industry.

Full story

NEW! Tampa Bay Bridge to Baccalaureate Program for STEM students – beginning Fall 2023

St. Petersburg College, Hillsborough Community College and the State College of Florida have established the Tampa Bay Bridge to the Baccalaureate (TB-B2B) Alliance through the National Science Foundation (NSF) & Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program. The alliance was created to encourage minority students in the Tampa Bay Area to successfully transfer into and graduate with bachelor’s degrees in STEM majors, but all students are welcome to participate.

The TB-B2B Program provides resources and support to STEM students in supported programs as they work to achieve their 4-year STEM degree with offerings such as paid research opportunities, paid conferences, one-on-one tutoring, individualized transfer advising, STEM faculty mentorship and more. The lists of qualifying STEM degrees at each institution can be found here.