SEMI and FIRST Global Team Up to Inspire STEM Education
MILPITAS, Calif. – SEMI, the global industry association representing the electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, today announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with FIRST Global, a non-profit that organizes the FIRST Global Challenge, an annual international robotics event dedicated to inspiring a passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) among young students worldwide. Under the agreement, SEMI will leverage its global platform to help bring the FIRST Global Challenge to more young students around the world and inspire them to pursue a STEM education.
The MOU aligns with SEMI Works, the holistic SEMI program designed to improve the industry’s image and provide programs for all age groups across the education continuum. SEMI Works aims to strengthen the semiconductor industry’s talent pipeline and overcome its shortage of skilled workers.
“With workforce development a top strategic priority at SEMI, supporting FIRST Global makes sense as it gives young people around the world opportunities to collaborate and helps expose them to STEM careers through experiential learning opportunities,” said Ajit Manocha, SEMI president and CEO. “We are excited to be partnering with FIRST Global, which shares SEMI’s passion for inspiring young students to pursue educations and ultimately careers in STEM disciplines.”
Dean Kamen, the legendary inventor of the Segway and a tireless advocate for science and technology, established FIRST Global. The inaugural 2017 FIRST Global Challenge included teams from more than 150 countries. In his keynote last week at SEMICON West, Kamen discussed how the industry can develop the next generation of talent critical to innovation as well as the FIRST Global Challenge.
About FIRST Global
FIRST® Global was established as a US-based 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity to provide the framework for an “Olympics”-style robotics challenge, inviting one team from every nation to participate in an international robotics event that builds bridges between high school students with different backgrounds, languages, religions, and customs. By bringing these future STEM leaders together in an engaging and collaborative competition that drives home the importance, excitement, and applicability of STEM education, FIRST Global inspires students to learn the skills they will need to make the discoveries their parents and grandparents would consider miracles, impossibilities, or just plain science fiction. FIRST Global also strives to convince the various national governments and organizations of the world to embrace STEM education, and to support it by investing in their young adults that will soon begin to make their marks in the world. Visit https://first.global/ to learn more and to get involved!
