We Support STEM Education!
S. W. Cole Engineering, Inc. actively supports the education of students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects, 
known as the STEM fields. The skills and knowledge students gain from learning about these subjects are indispensable in the workplace, especially in a technical position.
In a 2010 report to the President of the United States, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology wrote, "The success of the United States in the 21st century—its wealth and welfare—will depend on the ideas and skills of its population. These have always been the Nation’s most important assets. As the world becomes increasingly technological, the value of these national assets will be determined in no small measure by the effectiveness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States."
S. W. Cole understands this, and to do our part, in 2011 we sponsored the first "Dig Into Science" contest. In this competition, students in grades 1 through 12 told S. W. Cole, via video, how science and engineering affected their daily lives. Six groups of students each won a $1,000 stipend to attend a science- or engineering-related field trip. The contest was repeated in 2012 and, we hope, in years to come.
S. W. Cole's interest in STEM education does not end there; the firm strives to promote STEM education at all times. We will use this page to keep our clients, friends and colleagues informed about STEM events and news, especially in northern New England.
Recent STEM news includes:
- NH Senator Jeanne Shaheen praises Portsmouth Naval Shipyard's STEM efforts
- OPINION: Maine's Baxter Academy will address what public high schools can't
- Expanding Your Horizons Conference at UMaine focuses on STEM careers
- Forum highlights the need for more STEM graduates
- STEM visa bill passes in the House
- Opinion: Business leaders support restoration of educational funding
- Maine Charter School Commission approves state's first STEM-focused charter school
- Deficient math skills add up to challenges in college
- Nashua, NH student wins top prize in 3M competition
- Massachusetts technology firm encourages STEM with design challenge
- UNH receives $3.4M to address gender imbalance in STEM faculty
- Balloon launch inflates Bangor students' educational experience
- Afterschool programs address STEM subjects
- Benefits of community college touted to high school seniors at STEM event
- Granite state students excel in science, math
STEM-related organizations we follow include:
- National Science Teachers Association
- Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
- Association of Teachers of Mathematics in New England
- Maine Environmental Educators Association
- Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine
- Maine Engineering Promotion Council
- New England Association of Technology Teachers
- New Hampshire Teachers of Mathematics
- New Hampshire Joint Engineering Societies
- Technology Students Association
- STEM Education Coalition
- Maine Pathways to STEM