Championing the Innovation Generation

JETS, Motorola Team Up to Inspire Female Scientists and Engineers of Tomorrow

12/06/2007- NCGS Partner News

Encouraging and inspiring females to pursue engineering careers has quickly become one of the most pressing issues in the pre-college engineering education community. To tackle this issue from a national scope, JETS announced today it received a $50,000 Innovation Generation Grant from the Motorola Foundation to support a girl-focused initiative through a collaborative effort with the National Coalition of Girls' Schools.
 

The Motorola Foundation's Innovation Generation Grants fund education programs that spark an interest for science, technology, engineering and math in today's youth. Focused on this same interest, the purpose of JETS initiative is to provide quality materials and resources to coalition school members to inform both teachers and students about the various careers in engineering while helping them explore, assess, and experience the profession.
 

"Motorola's partnership with JETS will cultivate the next generation of skilled scientists America will need and ultimately help improve our country's future workforce," said Eileen Sweeney, director, Motorola Foundation. "All of us at Motorola are advocates for education and applaud the work that JETS is doing to ignite an interest in science, math and engineering at an early age, particularly for girls and the underserved."
 

JETS connected with three leading female-focused engineering groups, The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Extraordinary Women Engineers Project (EWEB), and Techbridge, each providing material that promotes engineering and technology and encourages participation in programs that show how engineers make a difference in our lives.
 

"With Motorola's Innovation Generation Grant, JETS will be able to reach more than 100 schools, giving their students the chance to discover a career where they can truly change the world," said Leann Yoder, executive director of JETS. "The participation of all organizations involved is an integral part of this initiative. These resources will present a positive message about engineering and related careers to each of the girls."
 

The National Coalition of Girls' Schools considers science, technology, engineering and math a top curriculum priority. "Putting tools in the hands of teachers is a crucial element of our strategy to promote girls' and young women's achievement in these important areas," said Whitney Ransome, NCGS Co-Executive Director. "Our schools know that this is an important educational issue, and we are grateful for this opportunity to provide new materials they can put right to work in the classroom."
 

Added Meg Milne Moulton, NCGS Co-Executive Director, "This initiative clearly demonstrates the value of a collaborative approach. Combining the existing expertise in the scientific fields, the creative energy of groups like JETS, and the innovative spirit of the girls' school community creates a synergy far greater than the sum of its parts."
 

The packets are expected to be distributed in December and will include:

• The popular Engineers Can Do Anything DVD from the Engineering Education Services Center.
• One copy of EXPLORE magazine, JETS latest career resource publication.
• Information about the 'girls only' web site, www.engineeryourlife.org from EWEP;
  Career brochures from SWE and EWEP.
• One complimentary copy of ASSESS, JETS academic diagnostic tool.
• Program information about the JETS TEAMS and NEDC competitions with complimentary registration for one team from each school registering for TEAMS.
• A copy of Techbridge's Green Design curriculum and resource guide.
  

Throughout the world, the Motorola Foundation's dynamic network is inspiring future inventors and engineers. In early 2007, Motorola launched the U.S. Innovation Generation Grant program, with $3.5 million available to support programs that infuse the future with skilled inventors. Funding focuses on programs that engage students in science, technology, engineering and math early in life, with priority given to those programs that incorporate Motorola employees as volunteers. For a complete list of Innovation Generation Grant recipients, visit www.motorola.com/giving.
 

Since 2000, Motorola Foundation has contributed more than $35 million in grants to a variety of programs that draw students closer to science, technology, engineering and math.

About JETS

JETS is a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating our nation's young people about and preparing them for engineering and technology careers. Since 1950, JETS has been impacting a diverse group of high school students with programs that illustrate engineering in the real-world. Through a unique three-prong approach-Explore, Assess, and Experience-JETS academic competitions and educational resources excite students about careers in engineering and technology by showing them the critical role engineers play in the world around us.

Media Contacts:

For JETS: Donald Lehr, The Nolan/Lehr Group, Inc., dblehr@cs.com, (212) 967-8200

For NCGS: Carolyn Colletti, (978) 368-9086