The ATE Collaborative Outreach and Engagement (ACOE) project will implement a strategy and plan to raise awareness of the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, the centers and projects the program funds, and the valuable resources these grantees develop. This awareness will help build partnerships and collaborations, disseminate innovative ATE resources, and create synergy around the program's efforts. In addition, the deliverables of this project will help further the case for the critical U.S. economic need for technician education and the important role community colleges play in the context of the ATE program and beyond. The project will allow the whole community - from small projects to national centers - to highlight individual activities and simultaneously to explain the broader impact of the ATE program.
The ACOE project will improve the skills and knowledge of technicians and technical educators by (1) increasing awareness of the resources available from NSF ATE grantees; (2) fostering collaborative activities among centers and projects to reach more individual educators and students, community colleges, and employers; (3) enhancing decision maker knowledge of the NSF ATE program; and (4) facilitating partnerships between industry and other stakeholders and those in the ATE community. The project focuses on providing opportunities for interaction and collaboration in tandem with high-quality materials that will increase the rigor, relevance, intensity, and cross-transfer of content knowledge, pedagogy, and technical skills in advanced technology fields. Collectively, the project will strengthen the ATE community's outreach efforts through a mixed-media approach to disseminate information and effectively interact with stakeholders at all levels including employers, administrators, educators, industry partners, and students.
