The first national conference on Advanced Technological Education (ATE) called ATE-CON is being held in the summer of 2009. With support from NSF, this project is catalyzing this joint ATE center effort and significantly broadening the impact of the ATE program. The vision for the conference is to position ATE centers and projects, in collaboration with education partners and industry, as the guiding force for the new American workforce. ATE-CON is designed to become a self-sustaining conference where both faculty who teach technicians and technicians themselves go to update skills and knowledge. This conference is a major dissemination vehicle for ATE centers and projects where others (outside of the ATE community) become more aware of the ATE program, its funded centers and projects, the program's goals, and funding opportunities. Industry is providing support through focused content workshops, sponsorships, speakers, and cross-disciplinary technical presentations.
Seventeen existing ATE centers are collaborating on the conference program development, which consists of two days of pre-conference technical and educational workshops, short courses, and tours, followed by two days of conference sessions. The second workshop day and the first conference day are technician focused.
Intellectual Merit: The conference design ensures significant intellectual merit though an emphasis on the converging technologies and cross-cutting disciplines. The conference provides a unique opportunity for faculty to gain knowledge and technical experience in their own and related fields. Additionally, the conference is a unique venue for education and industry collaboration to define and identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to ensure workforce competitiveness.
Broader Impact: The conference has the strong potential to attract participants from outside of the ATE constituency and, in particular, from industry. This unique collaboration among existing ATE centers directly expands the audience for ATE produced materials and services and importantly open new venues for collaborative efforts, as well as attracting potential new grantees to the program.
