Engineering Society of Detroit STEM Symposium - Fox 2 News Headlines

March 1-2, 2013

ESD Headquarters, Southfield, MI

What do employers want? A great workforce. What do our students want? A great job! What will bring sustainable economic growth to Michigan? Make STEM-related careers our priority.

The ESD Institute in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Crain's Detroit Business will host a STEM Symposium on March 1-2, 2013, featuring educators, teachers, parents, and employers—all in one room to arrive at a consensus and draft a blueprint that will benefit ALL MICHIGAN students—across all districts, income levels, and demographics, so that we produce a successful and competitive engineering and technical workforce.

PRESENTERS:

Barbara Bolin, Executive Director, Michigan STEM Partnership
John Calabrese, Vice President, Global Vehicle Engineering, General Motors
Dave Duggar, Director, Eastern Michigan University
Sarah Harfst, Junior Consultant, Orbitak International, LLC
David Hecker, President, Michigan American Federation of Teachers
Lisa Baragar Katz, Executive Director, Workforce Intelligence Network (WIN) of Southeast Michigan
Michael Khoury, President, Detroit Cristo Rey
Julie VanPortfliet, Program Manager, TRAC
Rich Wells, Vice President and Site Director of Michigan Operations at Dow Chemical

DOCUMENTS:

SYMPOSIUM ABSTRACT
SYMPOSIUM AGENDA

Get engaged—follow the conversation on Twitter #STEMFUTURE. Or, give us a call!

• In Michigan, only 1 engineer is available to fill 5 job openings. (SOURCE: Workforce Intelligence Network)
• By 2020, there will be a shortfall of 500,000 engineers in the US. (SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor and American Society for Engineering Education)
• In the US, the dropout rate at engineering schools is 50%. (SOURCE: National Science Foundation, Science and Engineering Indicators 2012)
• Michigan's just released MEAP scores flag this growing problem with our youth. (SOURCE: Michigan Department of Education)
• Students, parents, teachers, businesspeople, companies, policymakers, the community – all are worried about the future.
• We must work together to give K-12 students the opportunity to engage in and become excited about the STEM subjects.
• In this way we will help them reach greater success and increase the likelihood that they will become talented scientists and engineers.
• Our workforce, our place in the global economy, and our families depend on it.
• Investing in the education of U.S. students in the STEM fields is critical for the American workforce to prosper in the knowledge-based, technology-driven global economy of the 21st century. Strong skills in the STEM fields especially are critical in maintaining a high-quality workforce that will be globally competitive and drive technological advancement and economic growth. U.S. society is based in large part on technological and scientific advances. The continuation of technological advancement, a critical element in sustaining economic growth, depends on the science and engineering literacy of American workers. Several studies have found a direct correlation between a nation's science and math skills and its rate of economic growth. Barro (2001) argues that human capital, especially related to education, is a determinant of economic growth. Science and math scores are significantly positive in the correlation to economic growth – higher science and math scores predict more economic growth. (SOURCE: Barro, R.J. (2001). Education and economic growth. The Contribution of Human and Social Capital to Sustained Economic Growth and Well-Being. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/edu/educationeconomyandsociety/1825455.pdf

Critical Skills (Medicine, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Other Sciences) Degrees Awarded – Michigan ranks #4 in U.S.

MEAP Scores for the State of Michigan, 2010-2012