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of the STEAM Summit grows each year. Last held on November 15, 2022, the STEAM Summit encourages middle and high school students to pursue science, technology, engineering, art and math careers by connecting them to business and higher educational institutions which offer opportunities in STEAM related careers. The event is a highly interactive, hands-on format. About 850 students attended the 2022 Summit and explored 51 booths of vendors. “Students interact with the vendors, ask questions and fill out a survey that helps them gather information. It is a time for the students to explore the different career paths within the STEAM industries,” Sheehan says. “Some students might walk away with a new career path that they didn’t know existed before attending the summit. It is a great event for students to explore and different companies to showcase the jobs they offer to local students.” As we discuss workforce, it is pertinent to highlight the importance of higher education to our region’s employers. Back for its second year as a standalone event, the Higher Education Outlook in 2022 brought together leadership from the Rochester region’s higher education institutions to discuss workforce trends in addition to sharing updates on projects and initiatives at their respective campuses. Attendees were able to connect with educational leaders to discuss possible collaboration opportunities and trends within the workforce. “New to the event this year was the inclusion of a student perspective panel, where student representatives from Rochester Community and Technical College, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Rochester, and Winona State University spoke on their experience in higher education and how it is preparing them for the workforce,” Krull says. “As the workforce continues to change, this event provides a fantastic opportunity to remain engaged with area institutions that provide the training to tomorrow’s employees.”
Business Development Exchange
Higher Education Outlook
Advantage Magazine | 9
February 2023
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