NSF-ATE Principal Investigators Conference

The American Association of Community Colleges with the support of the National Science Foundation held the seventeenth national ATE Principal Investigators Conference, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC., on October 27-29. The conference brings together approximately 800 people to focus on the critical issues related to advanced technological education. Key people working on ATE projects across the country participate in the conference. Conference attendees represent community colleges, business and industry, secondary school systems, four-year colleges, and research and development centers covering projects in a wide variety of areas such as: information technology, engineering technology, micro- and nanotechnologies, chemical technology, biotechnology, and others.

I attended the conference representing the Medical Device Industry Education Consortium (MDIEC), led by St. Petersburg College. The MDIEC, which was established in 2005, was formed to develop and deliver industry-endorsed solutions that address critical industry-defined technical education and training needs. Representatives from the medical device industry are working with two-year colleges including Anoka-Ramsey Community College (Coon Rapids, MN), Edmonds Community College (Everett, WA), North Orange County Community College District (Anaheim,CA), and St. Petersburg College (Largo, FL), to providing education and training tailored for technicians involved in quality control, research & development (R&D), product development, manufacturing, biological/chemical analysis, compliance-related data management, clinical data management, clinical trials, and technology-related sales occupations.