Increasing the diversity of young people in engineering
Linda Boff
CEO | Passionate about the marketing industry and finding a better way to help clients grow and prosper
At GE, we are committed to building a world that works... no easy feat. In the 15+ years I’ve spent at the company, I’ve had a front-row seat to watching our teams wrap their minds – and hands – around what it means to create towering offshore wind turbines, ultrasounds that fit in the palm of your hand, and software that can help airports detect COVID-19 more easily. My colleagues at GE make these innovations possible and I respect all of them enormously. I am in awe of our engineers who quite literally are creating blueprints for the future.
Engineering is a critical field and as we’ve learned, one where diverse populations are woefully underrepresented.
Knowing that, today I am humbled, in my role as president of the GE Foundation, to announce a new commitment of up to $100 million to create the Next Engineers program – a global college-readiness initiative to increase the diversity of young people in engineering.
Over the next decade, the goal of Next Engineers is to reach more than 85,000 students in approximately 25 cities globally to develop the next generation of engineers and innovators. The program will focus on underrepresented students in grades eight to 12 (ages 13 to 18), provide hands-on exposure to engineering concepts and careers, and ultimately award scholarships to pursue engineering degrees.
The program has three pillars: Engineering Expo, a career fair or assembly to increase awareness about engineering opportunities; Engineering Camp, a week-long immersive experience to develop engineering identities; and Engineering Academy, a three-year program to guide and encourage students to pursue engineering degrees.
What I love about Next Engineers is that it’s built around some of the best community initiatives happening across GE. GE Girls, an initiative launched by our Women’s Network, has reached hundreds of eighth grade girls to explore STEM careers. GirlsGetSET, a program from the GE team in the U.K., shows young girls what Science, Engineering and Technology (or SET for short) is all about.
Over the years, the Foundation has made great progress around education and health. As we look ahead to the Foundation’s next evolution, we are committed to making an ever greater impact globally with Next Engineers.
Before I close, I’d like to share a discussion with Elizabeth Ivy Johnson, an engineer at GE Healthcare for the past 18 years, who received a scholarship from GE while studying mechanical engineering.
Today’s youth is critical to building a world that works and we are eager to get started. Next Engineers’ pilot cities will be announced this summer and the first phase of the program will begin in September 2021. You can follow our journey at @GE_Foundation on Twitter and learn more at www.ge.com/foundation.
Board Member, Author, Entrepreneur
3 年Linda, Would really appreciate the opportunity to tell you about a school for underprivileged children in Iraq that will teach them the necessary skills to enter the engineering field. The school is just getting started, lead by an accomplished Iraqi woman who ran her own successful HVAC business in Iraq, even worked successfully with GE while in Iraq!!!!… and now lives in Virginia. This woman wants to help the underprivileged children in Iraq by providing free training that will lead to employment. She has already hired local instructors, personally met with many potential students in Baghdad and Karbala and turned her own property in Iraq into a school. My job is to help her raise money to build her schools. I think what you’re proposing dovetails beautifully with her goals. I think you could really help each other. Please feel free to contact me so that we can discuss this further. ?Lori Foster (415)450-0312 ex VP J Walter Thompson?
Senior Mechanical Engineer with over twenty years of successful experience in Project Management, and HVAC. Strengths in superintendence and Consultant backed by training in Mechanical Engineering.
3 年It is an excellent program. I am thinking of two advantages: 1st, the program could help hundreds of vulnerable girls who owe limited opportunities to involve in college and get a degree. 2nd, this program will encourage society to accept and believe in girls engineers and technicians on sites especially, Mechanical and Electrical.
Human Resource Management Practitioner; Trainer; Facilitator
3 年This is a wonderful program which GE has initiated for young people who might have feared going into engineering profession. I am interested to learn more about the Next Generation Program so that I can share this idea with the students I work with. I will appreciate it very much.
Boesy ,Top quality promotional gifts manufacturer in USB Webkey/USB Stick/USB driver/USB data blocker/Video Brochure/video cards/video booklet/video box/- Sales Manager
3 年Well done!Linda Boff
HR Professional
3 年Wonderful iniciative. We need to empower them from early age. Then they will realize that everything is possible