In this presentation, we will be discussing the collaboration between the Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence and the Region Nine Development Commission on identifying local industry needs and incorporating the secondary Siemens STEM Curriculum to meet these local workforce needs. Imagine what opportunities there are for a partnership like this could mean in your community? The Siemens STEM secondary school curriculum is an engineering project/problem-based learning curriculum which teaches the fundamentals of engineering design and manufacturing along with the enabling engineering technology (free), e.g., CAD, CAM, CAE, design collaboration, etc. Students utilize the iterative engineering design process to define, research, imagine, plan, create, test, improve, and communicate solutions. Each project allows student teams to develop distinctive solutions to the same problem. The problem statement presents the student with an opportunity to plan, organize and conduct research. “Enabling Activities” provide students with the required knowledge and skills “just in time” so they may proceed to a viable solution. Teachers are trained (free) on the curriculum (free), pedagogy, and technology while receiving continuing education credits. They serve multiple roles, from guide and facilitator of student work to the provider of useful knowledge and demonstrator of useful skills.
