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• Do you have a concrete idea for improving technician education and need funds to implement it?
• Do you have good ideas about how to improve technician education, but need additional help to flesh out and implement these ideas?
• Do you have expertise in education research, implementation, or evaluation and want to partner with technician educators to improve technician education?

If your answer to any these questions was YES, you are invited to a meeting at Â鶹´«Ã½ to learn about funding Â鶹´«Ã½ from the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program.

The WMU Evaluation Center has been funded continuously by the ATE program since 1999, and we would like to share what we’ve learned to help you get funding to support your research or academic program development efforts. It is a great time to apply to this program - its funding has increased while the number of proposals being submitted to the program has been on the decline.

  The ATE program funds an array of activities to improve the quality of technician education and the number of qualified technicians entering the workforce. The program mainly—but not exclusively—funds two-year colleges, with a focus on high-tech fields that drive our nation’s economy—advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, nanotechnology, engineering technology (and many more). In addition to developing or enhancing technical education programs and Â鶹´«Ã½ support, there are Â鶹´«Ã½ for educational researchers to partner with two-year colleges to study technician education and workforce development. To learn more about the program, read the .

Meeting Details:

 In response to the COVID-19 situation, we have decided to postpone the meeting until after this crisis passes. We will let you know the new date and details as soon as plans are re-solidified.

Agenda:

The meeting will feature brief presentations by ATE projects leaders, technician educators, and NSF-ATE program officer, Connie Della-Piana. Lunch is included, and there will be ample time for idea generation, networking, and Q&A. We will share a more detailed meeting agenda within the next few weeks.