Teaching students about marine technology
Description
“We use marine technology as a hook to teach engineering and technology,” says Deidre Sullivan, director and principal investigator of the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center in Monterey, California. “There is a need for engineers, and especially technicians with applied engineering skills. There are a lot of these jobs in the marine field, but also in advanced manufacturing, renew[able] energy, and in many other sectors of the economy. We focus on getting students into the workforce by expanding the pipeline for [them] to enter science, technology, engineering, and math programs.”
Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the MATE Center works with secondary schools, community colleges, universities, research institutions, marine industries, professional societies, and working professionals to develop curricula and courses in marine technology, underwater robotics, marine geospatial technology, career awareness, and ocean observing systems. MATE provides professional development (PD) for faculty; conducts underwater robotics competitions for students; and offers internships for college students.