SpaceTEC, the NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program's National Aerospace Technical Education Center, includes 12 community college and university partnerships, giants of the aerospace industry, and support by NASA, the Air Force, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Founded in 2001, SpaceTEC's participating colleges have successfully developed and delivered practice based aerospace technology degrees and certificate programs driven by industry needs and built on real-world skills, resulting in the nation's first core-certified aerospace technicians. Over the past 3 years, participating colleges have successfully (1) developed and delivered practice-based aerospace technology degree and certificate programs; (2) graduated and placed significant numbers of students from these programs; (3) created and implemented articulation agreements for all 12 colleges; (4) conducted workshops and internships for college faculty and K-12 teachers; (5) hosted outreach events for college, university, and K-12 students; and (6) developed and implemented a national examination process to certify aerospace technicians. SpaceTEC provides outreach and dissemination for a variety of space-related disciplines such as robotics, simulation technology, and geospatial information systems. Educational modules in key technical areas and specific discipline modules relating space themes to academic areas such as math, English, and humanities have been widely disseminated. Services to underserved populations are producing measurable results, and initial steps have been taken to develop sustainable processes.
Intellectual Merit: SpaceTEC is a pioneering effort in technical education that offers great potential for the use of practice-based curricula and certification processes in many other disciplines relating to aerospace. A heightened emphasis on national security and assured access to space for defense have added impetus to industry and government support for SpaceTEC. New commercial space ventures such as the flight of SpaceShipOne are opening new opportunities requiring multi-skilled technicians with broad competencies. As the President's Exploration Initiative seeks to return Americans to the moon and send manned missions to Mars, SpaceTEC directly addresses these needs, providing the only industry-based, academically approved national aerospace education and certification programs for the technicians of the future.
Broader Impacts: SpaceTEC operates in an environment that includes rapid technology changes and growing global competition. SpaceTEC's vision is to be a focal point promoting careers in aerospace, engaging students in science and technology, and providing ways to reduce costs and avoid problems. SpaceTEC supports industry in preparing for the changing aerospace workplace by providing programs, courses, and competencies needed for the multi-skilled technician of the future. SpaceTEC's multi-faceted alliance has created a national infrastructure comprising industry, labor, government and academic partners matching local technical education needs with nationally-standardized skill sets. Stakeholder support is substantial and is expected to grow even greater (e.g., FAA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SpaceTEC in October 2004).
