University And Community Partnerships For Reaching Pre College Students: The Epics Model

Yet, the commitment by the engineering and educational professions to ensure that these early engineering tendencies develop and are sustained throughout the P/K-12 learning experience has been primarily intermittent. These periodic and ad hoc efforts are insufficient. Needed educational change and consistency are necessary if the engineering profession is to overcome its challenges specifically in undergraduate enrollment numbers, recruitment of women and underrepresented minorities, and the public perception (including the views of youth) of engineering and technology. There is interconnectivity among science, technology, and engineering that requires clarification and promotion. Science seeks to understand the natural world and requires new tools and discoveries; engineering uses scientific discoveries to create products and processes that meet society’s needs; technologies are the result of engineered designs created to solve societal needs and wants 4 These common threads can be strengthened when educational solutions and opportunities for engagement are consistently, creatively, and thoughtfully applied.