Council partnerships for STEM MB courses

[RememberSchiff]

June, 2022 : example of a school partnership. I do not know if faculty were offficial MBC's or if Council used adult leaders for proxy signoff and YP. I prefer this approach over the expense of a Council creating their own separate Skills or STEM center.

The Narragansett Council, Boy Scouts of America and New England Institute of Technology have formed a collaboration, offering a series of Merit Badge courses that help Scouts learn technical skills directly from industry expert faculty. These Merit Badge courses give Scouts the chance to explore areas of interest that could inform future careers.

While Scouts learn from NEIT faculty, parents and guardians are given the opportunity to tour the campus and learn about post-secondary education opportunities at NEIT.

This May, NCBSA hosted STEM-focused Merit Badge courses at two NEIT campuses. The Surveying, Electronics, and Health Professions Merit Badge courses were held at the East Greenwich campus, and the Automotive Mechanics Merit Badge course was held at the Warwick campus. Each course was led by NEIT faculty.

Scout attendees benefited from a hands-on, intensive learning experience that met the requirements for their chosen Merit Badge. This collaboration will be especially impactful for Scouts who may not otherwise have access to hands on learning in these topic areas, and professionals in these fields.

“It is particularly gratifying to help Scouts achieve their STEM-related Merit Badges by offering hands-on experience under the guidance of our industry expert faculty,” said Alan Resnick, Vice President for Strategic Planning at NEIT. “Our faculty is dedicated helping young people discover the joy of learning about and doing new things. We anticipate future successes as our relationship with the Scouts continues to expand.”

“We’re excited to expand our Merit Badge offerings to Scouts through our new collaboration with NEIT,” said Tim McCandless, Scout Executive and CEO. “By partnering with a higher education institution like NEIT, we’re able to show Scouts that the skills they learn through their Merit Badges have real world applicability. We look forward to continuing to add more subject areas going forward.”

https://www.valleybreeze.com/news/state/narragansett-council-and-neit-collaborate-to-teach-stem-skills-to-scouts/article_cd2146d0-e828-11ec-8271-87c0309a1328.html

Edited June 16, 2022 by RememberSchiff

[fred8033]

Nice to see.  Often these situations are where scouts can shine.   Strong expertise.  Special unique experiences.

 

[RememberSchiff]

April, 2022 : example of a professional association partnership: Eastern Advanced Manufacturing Alliance.

Welding Merit Badge Workshop

The workshop will be held on April 30, 2022 from 9 AM to 2 PM at member company Collins & Jewell in Bozrah, CT and is open to high school age members of Scouts, BSA in New London and Windham counties.   Participants will learn about welding safety, equipment, processes and training and career opportunities available in this high demand field.

In addition to donating space for the event, Collins & Jewell will also be hosting a tour of their facility and is dedicating the time and skills of several of their certified weld instructors to work with the scouts to learn different types of welding.

Airgas & Lincoln Electric are generously donating safety materials such as weld helmets, gloves and coats for the scouts to use during the activities and support is also provided by the American Welding Society.

The event is open to Scouts ages 14 and older and event capacity is limited to 20 Scouts.  Lunch will be provided by EAMA.

Parents & Guardians of registered attendees are invited to join the tour and learn about the numerous career opportunities in the region available in manufacturing.

https://eamainc.com/event/welding-merit-badge/.

 

I have seen other Welding MB, sometimes called Welding Merit Badge Day, partnerships this Spring.

https://scoutingevent.com/250-weldingmb2022   <- Northern Star Scouting Council/ Lynnes Welding Training

 

[BAJ]

My council (NCAC) did welding and composite materials in partnership with a local Makerspace.  That meant the scouts had access to great equipment and instructors.  There was a council person who was the MBC and a bunch of us helped supervise for multi-deep leader coverage.  It was a good program.