The University of Cincinnati will continue shaping young minds in engineering through GE Aerospace's Next Engineers program, now confirmed to run until 2035. This initiative is a boon for aspiring engineers, from middle school through high school, setting them on course for a potential college education in the field. GE Aerospace’s commitment is a long-haul promise to the STEM pipeline, fostering the next generation of innovators and problem solvers across three U.S. cities and beyond.
Investing in the youth means more than just revving up the recruitment engine, it's building the future from the ground up, and that's what the Next Engineers program at UC is all about, a program that has touched over 30,000 students and counting, backed by dedicated GE Aerospace volunteers, it offers hands-on design challenges and practical insights into a career in engineering. "Over 30,000 students around the world have experienced the power and possibility of engineering through our Next Engineers program and the dedicated GE Aerospace volunteers who make it possible," Meghan Thurlow, President of the GE Aerospace Foundation, expressed in a statement obtained by the University of Cincinnati. Whitney Gaskins from UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science relayed a glowing approval, tossing in remarks about the true collaboration this program has fostered.
The journey for these young engineers starts with the Engineering Discovery initiative, targeting those aged 13 and 14, which thrusts them into the thick of engineering through short, interactive projects. These practical tasks are supervised by UC staff and GE Aerospace volunteers. Meanwhile, older students can dive deeper through the two-year Engineering Academy program, where immersive challenges, career coaching, and skills-building workshops pave a clearer path toward a potential scholarship for qualifying graduates, with an impressive $1.4 million already awarded in Cincinnati alone. "They get to learn from people who love this career field and ask questions. We can see those light-bulb moments when students realize they can do this," Gaskins told the University of Cincinnati.
Saturdays at UC bring high school sophomores together for serious hands-on work like building water filtration systems or tech for people with disabilities, which sheds light on the different engineering trajectories one might pursue. Whitney Gaskins, who studied biomedical engineering and quantitative analysis, underscored that engineering's vast spectrum necessitates a broad exposure, which these sessions deliver. "Engineering is not a monolith, so you can learn about its many different fields," she revealed to the University of Cincinnati. Kyle Turner, the manager of UC's Next Engineers program, highlights how employability skills like communication, time management, critical thinking, and collaboration are sharpened. These are crucibles for success, whether in education or employment sectors. Students are also making friends, exchanging a multitude of outlooks as they lay the groundwork for their academic and professional journeys.
Confidence, according to Turner, is the most critical takeaway for these students, with the Engineering Academy giving them the robust toolkit needed for enduring the rigors of an engineering degree program. Echoing this sentiment, Phurin Lehman, a current UC student in construction management, recalled his Academy experience fondly, noting that the program converted engineering from a daunting concept to a precise career goal. "The Next Engineers program was a turning point for me. Before joining, engineering felt like a broad, intimidating concept," Lehman recounted his transformation in a University of Cincinnati interview. "The program demystified the field by providing hands-on experience and direct access to professionals. It shifted my perspective from 'I might be good at this' to 'this is exactly what I want to do with my career.'" For those considering this path, the enrollment window for the next Engineering Academy session shuts on January 23, nudging interested parties to step up and join the fold of UC's burgeoning engineering community.
