The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center, headquartered at Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey, California, is a national network of community colleges, high schools, universities, research institutions, marine industries, and working professionals. The mission of the MATE Center is to improve marine technical education and in this way help to prepare America's future workforce for ocean-related occupations.
The MATE Center continues its mission now as an ATE-funded Resource Center. As a Resource Center for marine technology education, the MATE Center is: (1) Supporting institutions interested in developing or improving marine technology programs; (2) Developing new curricula, particularly in the areas of marine GIS, submersible technology, the collection of marine geospatial data (hydrographic surveying), and career awareness; (3) Offering faculty development institutes for high school, college, and university educators that focus on marine technology (including submersible technology, ocean data collection and analysis, marine career awareness, and the marine applications of GIS); (4) Conducting regional and national ROV (remotely operated vehicle) competitions to increase students' learning experiences and build academic and employer partnerships; (5) Enhancing and expanding the National MATE Internship Program that provides students from across the country with shore-based and at-sea technical experiences; (6) Disseminating MATE products, including curricula, textbooks, occupational guidelines, competencies, and process guides (internship manuals, survey materials, etc.), both in traditional formats and electronically though the Center's website; and (7) Increasing diversity in the marine workforce.
The MATE Center seeks to be the nation's leading organization for supporting, enhancing, and expanding marine technology education at community colleges, high schools, and universities. The ocean economy is large and diverse, accounting for twenty percent of our national economy and supporting one in six jobs in this country. Marine technology is vital to national security, transportation and commerce, energy and exploration activities, telecommunications, recreation and tourism, fisheries and aquaculture, search and recovery, environmental assessment and regulation, and research. Although these economic sectors are diverse, the technology behind them has many similarities. These include the collection and use of data from remotely operated vehicles and acoustic instruments; the use of advanced computing systems, such as GIS, for organizing and managing data; and the use of electronics and microelectronics for power, controls, and miniaturization in a remote, harsh environment. The need for highly qualified technical professionals who can design, build, operate, and maintain this technology has never been greater. A concerted effort is required to ensure that our workforce is prepared for an economy currently and increasingly dependent on ocean activities and the technologies that make these activities feasible. The MATE Center is prepared to lead this effort.
