MANSFIELD, CT (PRWEB) May 19, 2016
Driven by a goal to teach every child in every U.S. school critical invention and entrepreneurship skills, a network of 30+ invention convention and entrepreneurship programs from across the United States today announced the launch of The STEMIE Coalition. The Coalition, a non-profit organization named after STEM + Invention + Entrepreneurship, has rolled up more than 30 K-12 youth invention and entrepreneurship programs across the U.S. to build a national initiative for educating students with basic invention and startup skills.
The Coalition launched on the eve of its first marquee event, The 2016 National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE), being held at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Alexandria, Virginia, May 19-21. The inaugural NICEE event will host more than 250 students from around the country demonstrating their inventions, ranging from a Braille keyboard that clips onto an iPad so people with sight disabilities can type, to a sports training system built to enhance the ball placement abilities of athletes in any sport.
“Kids need to be taught more practical problem-solving skills, particularly unstructured problem solving, where you need to look at the world around you, find problems, and work to create solutions,” said Danny Briere, CEO of The STEMIE Coalition. “Invention and entrepreneurship can be taught, and The STEMIE Coalition’s goal is to bring that education to students nationwide, providing the knowledge they need to not only create new inventions, but also to build business cases around them and bring them to market. Next to every science fair, there needs to be a mini-Shark Tank, an ‘invention convention’ where students show off their newly minted inventions designed to solve their own – and the world’s – problems.”
The STEMIE Coalition’s goal is to grow from its present affiliates in more than 25 states today to reach all 50 states and the District of Columbia within the next five years with in-school programs that will collectively and annually teach more than 10 million students key skills in problem identification, problem solving, invention and entrepreneurship. The Coalition is jumpstarting this effort with the hundreds of thousands of students that are already participating in its member affiliates’ statewide invention programs annually.
The Coalition emerged from the principles of the highly successful 33-year old Connecticut Invention Convention, which trains nearly 20,000 students in 250 schools across Connecticut in invention and entrepreneurship education skillsets. Members of The STEMIE Coalition include local, regional and statewide invention and entrepreneurship programs that have banded together to elevate K-12 invention and entrepreneurship education to the national level. The group will provide essential resources and best practices to help launch new programs in the remaining U.S. states and expand emerging programs to reach more schools and students in existing member states.
About The STEMIE Coalition
The STEMIE Coalition is a non-profit, umbrella membership organization of youth invention and entrepreneurship programs across the U.S. It provides much-needed national attention for and drives interest in K-12 invention and entrepreneurship, while empowering local organizations with best practices and resources. The STEMIE Coalition is the first such group created to elevate invention and entrepreneurship education of K-12 students across the country.
The coalition is partnering with STEM and entrepreneurship programs with in-school curriculum and competitions to drive innovation and problem-solving skills into our next generation workforce. The coalition’s goal, with partners such as United Technologies Corp., Stanley Black & Decker and Brocade, and is to make an extensive, immediate, and measurable impact on youth invention and entrepreneurship in the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.stemie.org.