Eight Things You Should Know About HI-TEC

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The High-Impact Technology Exchange Conference (HI-TEC) is a national conference focused on defining advanced technical education systems that are streamlined to meet the demands of a 21st century workforce. The conference is held annually as part of the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Centers’ (NSF ATE) effort to promote excellence in career and technical education. Attracting secondary and postsecondary educators, career counselors, industry professionals, trade organizations, and technicians, HI-TEC has become an essential conference for those involved in training the future workforce for careers in the high-tech sectors that drive our nation's economy.

For HI-TEC veterans and novices alike, the list below provides fun facts, details, and information about this ATE community staple:

1. HI-TEC is the latest evolution of ATE centers’ efforts to share information about the resources and services offered throughout the advanced technology community. Filling the niche for a broad scale conference for educators at two-year colleges with programs focused on advanced technology, HI-TEC workshops, breakout sessions, and other events are specifically designed to promote and support best practices for technician education training. 

2. This year marks the 7th annual HI-TEC conference. The inaugural conference was held in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2009 and was made possible through the joint efforts and collaborations of many in the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) community. HI-TEC has been held in the following cities: Orlando, FL (2010); San Francisco, CA (2011); Denver, CO (2012); Austin, TX (2013); and Chicago, IL (2014).

3. HI-TEC is an all-center produced conference. With the help of the Center for Occupational Research and Development (CORD), HI-TEC is coordinated and facilitated by a group of dedicated volunteers from across the ATE community. Through their efforts, the conference brings together educators and industry for the benefit of the technical workforce. Want to learn more about who’s sponsoring and producing HI-TEC? Check out the home page of the conference and scroll down to see the full list of producers and sponsors.  

4. 68% of the 2014 conference attendees represented two-year higher education institutions. Other attendees represented four-year college faculty and staff, K-12 teachers and counselors, workforce development advocates, industry personnel, technicians, and others.

5. HI-TEC is a wonderful place to encourage interest and involvement in the ATE community and engage educators in professional development. In fact, the majority of attendees at the 2014 conference ranked “Gaining New Skills and Knowledge” as the most valuable take-away from the conference. This year, in order to ensure the knowledge shared at HI-TEC continues to be available, the conference is soliciting submissions for an interactive online e-book highlighting best practices for technician education from this year’s presentations.

6. Each year, the conference continues to attract educators from across the country and the world; the 2014 conference had over 590 participants from 45 states, the District of Columbia, Spain, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. 

7. This year’s conference, which will be held July 27-30 at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront Hotel, will offer 16 pre conference workshops and 4 tours on Monday and Tuesday, while the main conference on Wednesday and Thursday will feature keynote speakers and 90+ breakout sessions. There will also be an awards luncheon and Technology Showcase where exhibitors will display the latest products and services related to the advanced technology training and education environments.

8. Registration for the 2015 conference is still open! If you haven’t registered yet, you can find all the details online. We look forward to seeing you there!

Categories:
  • education
  • science
  • technology
From:
    ATE Impacts

Last Edited: September 8th, 2015 at 7:56am by Catherine Dixon

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