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Foundations of the Future: 2021 Recap of Accomplishments

The IPC Education Foundation had a successful 2021 and accomplished a lot despite the impacts of the pandemic. As we manage our way through the various challenges, we are proud of our progress toward our mission:  Develop a pipeline of new talent entering the electronics industry by creating awareness of the careers the electronics manufacturing industry has to offer, and providing students access to knowledge, content, and connections. You can also find a downloadable copy of the “Year in Review” at ipcef.org.

These are the top seven accomplishments we wish to highlight:

1. Two Successful Career Panels

Career journeys differ from person to person and by sharing the uniqueness with young and aspiring students interested in pursuing a career in electronics manufacturing became one of the Foundation’s key deliverables. We hosted industry representatives from a variety of companies or employers to share their stories about their current positions, tips for advancement, guidance on upskilling and gaining the necessary knowledge to enter the industry. We hosted two successful career paths panel discussions in February and November 2021 that reached more than 5,000 students and teachers interested in learning more about the various career opportunities. We are thankful for the support from the very eager panelists who came from IPC’s connections with industry and support from IPC Emerging Engineers representing General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, IBM, Digital Instruments, Inc, Apple, Blue Origin, Green Circuits, Summit Interconnect, and Cisco. The Foundation is committed to continue with these series by hosting “Friday Forums” the last Friday of each month which is an interactive webinar where students can ask questions themselves to industry experts and additional industry relevant webinars that is focused on industry topics, soft skills development, and career preparation.

2. IPC Student Chapter Growth

The IPC Student Chapter Program has expanded its reach to 53 universities and community colleges within the U.S. impacting more than 750 students. Program Manager Aaron Birney is the driver of this program and stewarding the various member benefit offerings available to students. For more information, ipcef.org/student-chapters or contact AaronBirney@ipc.org.

3. Awarded $38,000 in IPC Scholarships and Awards

Recognized 27 deserving IPC student members with an IPC Member Scholarship, awarded six IPC Student Leadership Awards to chapter leaders, and granted two Michael Carano Teacher Excellence Awards, alongside $3,000 toward Design Competition: PCBeTheChange in partnership with Altium’s Upverter Education and Arduino. To read more about the various scholarship and award winners, visit our website.

4. PCBeTheChange Design Competition

Launched in partnership with Altium’s Upverter Education and Arduino, we have received a total of 87 registrants from high schools, community colleges, and universities around the world: 17 countries which included teams from India, Nigeria, South Africa, Greece, Iran, Afghanistan, France, Australia, and of course the U.S. and Canada. We showcased the winners of the high school and university/college categories at the IPC Design Booth on the IPC APEX EXPO Show floor whilst Altium representatives volunteered their time to educate students attending the IPC APEX EXPO STEM Outreach Program about PCB Design. Visit the blog on our website for details.

5. Increased access to industry relevant content.

To support teachers in the classroom, the Foundation has a free downloadable industry terminology guide, a variety of webinars discussing industry topics ranging from conscientious engineering to schematic design all available on our YouTube Channel, and a benefit of the IPC Student Chapter program certain IPC standards and industry relevant videos are available to students in community colleges and universities. For more information on this, please reach out to the IPC Education Foundation.

6. Connections with industry are key focus.

We urge industry to connect with the IPC Education Foundation, because we are committed to attracting a new generation of prepared and productive talent. To do so, we need industry support by creating awareness of the careers the electronics manufacturing industry has to offer, and providing students access to knowledge, content, and connections. Help us provide opportunities for the emerging workforce and close the electronics manufacturing skills gap through the following opportunities:

• Host students at your facilities
• Serve on a Career Paths Panel Discussion as panelist
• Support through sponsorship that goes towards events or scholarships
• Volunteer as mentor or instructor
• Present an information webinar to share knowledge about industry careers and opportunities

If you are interested in any of above opportunities, please contact Wendy Gaston, Business Development Manager at WendyGaston@ipc.org.

7. Marketing: Awareness Creation to 180,000 individuals

Creating awareness about the industry and sharing information about the careers our marketing efforts allowed us to reach more than 180,000 individuals, predominantly students and teachers across our marketing channels which include our website, social media platforms, and a variety of articles and blog posts.  

We are making excellent strides and we look forward to making a difference by impacting more students and teachers’ lives in 2022. Please continue to visit our website and social media platforms to stay up to date with our developments. To learn more, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly.

Charlene?Gunter du Plessis is the senior director of the IPC Education Foundation.