The National Institute for Innovation and Technology (NIIT) and the Micro Nanotechnology Education Center (MNT-EC) today announced a collaboration focused on workforce development for the semiconductor sector and nanotechnology-related industries.
With the agreement, MNT-EC colleges will have access to NIIT’s National Talent Hub, which connects employers, education providers, job seekers and individuals looking to improve related skills. Colleges will be able to use the Talent Hub free of charge to ensure courses align with industry requirements and give their students access to the service’s job portal.
Students enrolled in MNT-EC programs will be eligible for “learn-and-earn” opportunities through NIIT’s Growing Apprenticeships in Nanotechnology and Semiconductors (GAINS) Registered Apprenticeship Program. NIIT has the exclusive, 5-year contract to expand the use of Registered Apprenticeships in the strategic supply chains of semiconductors and nanotechnology, which includes biomanufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and clean energy, among others.
You can read the full national press release here.
#1: The National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) 2023 conference will be held April 13-15, 2023 on the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus in Eau Claire, WI. The conference abstract submission window runs from October 3 to November 30, 2022.
NCUR is seeking volunteers to review abstracts submitted to the NCUR 2023 conference. They expect this review work to occur during the December 2022 timeframe, following the November 30 abstract submission deadline.
Anyone interested to serve as a reviewer should visit the Abstract Reviewers Wanted page, from there you can go to the Reviewer Signup page. Reviewers will be required to create a new account within the conference submission system if they do not already have one.
#2: Learn about the new NSF workforce development program TODAY, Nov 1 at 12PM Pacific time.
The U.S. National Science Foundation launched a new $30 million workforce development program, Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies, or ExLENT earlier this month.
Learn more about the program by joining the Introduction to ExLENT webinar on Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. E.T.
Click the link above left to register for this webinar.
ExLENT offers workforce development opportunities to help individuals gain valuable work experience in emerging technology areas such as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum information science, and semiconductors and microelectronics. With awards of up to $1 million over three years, the program will promote partnerships between organizations in emerging technology fields and those with expertise in workforce development.
#3: Sometimes the Think Small team is drinking from a firehose and cannot keep up… You can check out THREE New Scholarship and Internship opportunities linked below. BUT they will also be added to the Scholarship page in the Students & Families section by November 2, in case you want to share that page with students and faculty you know. Hint, hint.
The news section you are in right now is called Think Small. It is where we publish various news-oriented content; something that demands a longer article usually. But we have not had a way to collect and curate the many cool things that you – MNT partners, members, educators and students, and others, occasionally want to share.
Welcome to the new series I’m tentatively calling “Random Small” to provide us with a bucket, and I mean that in the most positive way, in which to put these important, but shorter tips, job or internship postings, upcoming events that we didn’t have a chance to get on the calendar (yet), and other, well, random items that need a home. You get the idea and here’s a few for this first post.
Normandale Community College is considering offering an 8-week section of its “Foundations of Vacuum Science” online course (VACT 1010). This course is designed for individuals who are interested in pursuing a career as a technician whose role it will be to support maintenance and troubleshooting of vacuum systems. The start date for this class would be Monday, October 17th, and the class would conclude by mid-December.
If you have a prospective student or others in your networks, especially organizational contacts. They can contact Kim Klein (Kimberly.Klein@normandale.edu) if interested in this class. Kim will be able to help them with the registration process.
Every year the NNCI has the “Plenty of Room at the Bottom” photo contest. Lots of great entries and if you receive our email newsletter, then you saw the hedgehog photo, which was a Most Whimsical winner from last year, which is from:Artist: Evgeniya Moiseeva, Huson Lab, University of Louisville. Tool: Thermo Scientific Apreo C SEM. Description: Solidified droplets of Gold on the side of the E-Beam evaporation ceramic crucible.
On our MNT LinkedIn page, you will find updates on colleagues, job listings, internship and apprenticeship opportunities, and more. Plus, as you’ve read above, we’re trying to include many of those items here on Random Small. The linked post takes you to a recent University of Southern California, Viterbi School of Engineering job for a Nanofabrication Lab Technician.
Note: We are considering a jobs/internship/career-oriented email on a 2 to 4 times per month basis. If you are interested, drop TJ an email. Again, we do post some of these on LinkedIn.
The MNT Calendar has the latest workshops and professional development webinars that you may find informative or worth sharing with your students and colleagues.
more tk
Thanks,
TJ McCue, Editor
P.S. Feel free to drop me an email note if there’s something you think we should know about.
Andrew and Miko are biotechnology technicians whose work contributes to advancements in healthcare and environmental science. They discuss their educational paths, the innovative projects they’re involved in, and the impact of their work on solving real-world challenges. Their stories highlight the transformative potential of biotechnology careers.
Show Notes
Talking Technicians goes to a hackathon! In this special episode of Talking Technicians, we’ve collaborated with the 2022 Antibody Engineers Hackathon which is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education program (DUE 2055036). The episode was recorded as part of the Hackathon. You’ll hear from two biotechnology practitioners, Andrew and Miko. They explain their work and how they found and benefited from a community college technician education program .
The Talking Technicians podcast is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, through financial support from the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education grant program.
Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation.
Join the conversation. If you are a working technician or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org.
Kendra works in IT, managing critical infrastructure that keeps organizations functioning smoothly. She shares how she developed problem-solving skills through training, the collaborative nature of her work, and why she believes IT careers offer both stability and exciting opportunities for growth.
Show Notes
Kendra works as an IT tech at a community college in Asheville, NC. Kendra wanted a change and enrolled in a community college program in web and graphic design. This led to her current role as an IT technician. Hear Kendra’s story and how her work involves more than computers and tech.
The Talking Technicians podcast is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, through financial support from the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education grant program.
Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation.
Join the conversation. If you are a working technician or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org.
In early August, MNT-EC was a proud sponsor and supporter of the Experience STEAM event at the Mall of America. It is a powerful testimony of what happens when NSF Centers collaborate, partner, and lift up the work of national centers across the USA.
Organized by the National Center for Autonomous Technology (NCAT) and the individual contributions of over 40 organizations. The STEAM Carnival provided broad public engagement in addition to the 18 educator workshops, 14 STEAM camps and it fostered enormous potential for future collaborations.
Testing Photonics equipment at Experience STEAM EventArduino Workshop at Experience STEAM EventParticipant in Arduino workshop at Experience STEAM 2022
Check out the massive list of Educational Partners and Corporate partners who made the event possible.
Three technicians share their journeys live from the HI-TEC Conference, offering diverse perspectives on what it means to be a technician. They highlight their unique paths, the skills that have driven their success, and how they’ve found fulfilling opportunities in technical roles across various industries.
Show Notes
Recorded LIVE! At the HI-TEC Conference in Salt Lake City, UT – A special episode of Talking Technicians: We welcome back Linzee, Mark and Glen from Season 2 and hear different perspectives working as a technician. Hear live questions from the audience and feel what it’s like to be part of the HI-TEC Conference.
The Talking Technicians podcast is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, through financial support from the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education grant program.
Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation.
Join the conversation. If you are a working technician or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org.
As water and ice destroyed the ship’s hull, the crew of the famed HMS Endurance, abandoned the ship and began their 25-day journey back to civilization under Sir Ernest Shackleton’s leadership. The Endurance sank on October 27, 1915 and was all but lost for the last 107 years.
Lost. That is, until a team of scientists found it on March 9, 2022 using submersibles and undersea drones in the Weddell Sea (on the Northern top of Antarctica). For any students of history, exploration, and adventure, the finding of the wooden ship at roughly 10,000 feet deep in icy waters is an exciting discovery.
What Gets Students Interested in Research and Technology?
It is stories like this one, finding the HMS Endurance, that inspire future and current scientists and explorers. Although the remotely operated vehicle used in the MATE ROV competition is a very basic version of the Saab Sabertooth drone that was used to locate and photograph the long-lost ship, the same scientific and mathematical concepts apply and are part of the STEM focus that the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center strive to teach. MATE is a resource center funded by the National Science Foundation and headquartered at Monterey Peninsula College (MPC).
According to the website, “The MATE ROV Competition is an underwater robotics challenge that engages a global community of learners each year. This year, the MATE ROV Competition is highlighting the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and inspiring our global community to embrace environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts to create a sustainable future on our ocean planet. The competition is challenging its community to design and build an ROV and the necessary sensors and tooling to support work to combat climate change, provide clean energy, feed our growing global population, monitor ocean health, preserve our maritime history, and ‘deliver, together, the ocean we need for the future we want!’”
Working together, NCAT (MNT-EC Partner) and MATE have re-imagined the 2022 MATE ROV Competition to include a virtual world that enables students and mentors from around the globe to experience the competition even if they can’t participate in person. As it did last year, the 2022 MATE ROV Competition VR World will facilitate the social interaction, peer-to-peer networking, and shared experience that students value and appreciate most about the competition – and are especially craving during the time of this pandemic.
In the 2022 annual MATE ROV (remotely operated vehicle) Competition at Long Beach City College this year, the Pasadena City College “Care Bears Build a Sub” student team that won third place at the event (photo above). Kudos to all of the students, staff, and faculty who made this a great adventure. Sir Ernest Shackleton would be glad to know that his ship was not lost forever thanks to generations of students who made remotely operated submersibles a reality.
The National Center for Autonomous Technologies (NCAT) funded through the NSF Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) program is leading out this summer organizing a major STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) event at the Mall of America in Minnesota.
The “Experience STEAM” event, August 10-14, 2022, is open to the public and will feature a number of additional MNT-EC partners as well that are organizing workshops and demonstrations. If you know anyone in that region of the USA, please share this post and information.
Experience STEAM is a large-scale STEAM outreach event at the Mall of America for their 30th Birthday Party. Experience STEAM will include academic partners from both the National Science Foundation and Minnesota State Colleges & Universities. It will feature a STEAM Carnival (5-30 minute hands-on activities with no prior experience necessary), a drone cage, pre-registered events for students, teachers, and industry professionals, and a world-qualifying VEX robotics tournament. Mall of America has an average daily attendance of 100,000+ and over 1M social media followers across all platforms.
Amber played a pivotal role in developing technologies to combat breast cancer, focusing on diagnostic and treatment tools. She discusses the challenges of working in a high-stakes field, the technical skills required to advance healthcare solutions, and how her passion for helping others has shaped her meaningful career.
Show Notes
Amber works in the biotech industry at ICON. She went to a community college biotech program and started working as a technician in Los Angeles. In this episode, hear how technicians save lives by fighting breast cancer. Amber started as a technician and her career shows how far technicians can go.
The Talking Technicians podcast is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, through financial support from the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education grant program.
Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation.
Join the conversation. If you are a working technician or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org.
Mark reflects on his extensive career as a technician, spanning decades of technological advancements. He shares key moments of growth, the importance of adapting to industry changes, and how mentorship shaped his journey. Mark emphasizes the value of continuous learning and how technicians contribute to innovation and stability in diverse fields.
Show Notes
Mark has over 25 years experience working as a technician. He worked as a technician at Intel in many different areas including hiring and training. Currently, Mark works as a technician at the MTTC at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM. Hear how technicians can do more than maintain and fix equipment; Mark’s career shows how far being a technician can take you.
The Talking Technicians podcast is produced by MNT-EC, the Micro Nano Technology Education Center, through financial support from the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education grant program.
Opinions expressed on this podcast do not necessarily represent those of the National Science Foundation.
Join the conversation. If you are a working technician or know someone who is, reach out to us at info@talkingtechnicians.org.
