innovate arkansas

Gov. Mike Beebe and the Arkansas Department of Education on Friday announced Arkansas' participation in a program that helps Arkansas students gain engineering experience. As part of the initiative, 85 teachers in state schools and career centers will receive about $1 million in computer-aided design software.

The Real World Design Challenge seeks to encourage students' interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, known by the acronym STEM. The program complements the state's efforts to increase such education for Arkansas students, the department said.

The Real World Design Challenge, which presents students with an engineering design challenge, is a partnership among the state of Arkansas, the National Aeronautics & Space Administration, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Federal Aviation Administration and others.

"While the State will do all it can to promote STEM education, it is the hands-on opportunities like this one that will truly inspire future scientists and engineers," Beebe said in an Education Department press release. "The sense of accomplishment these students draw from the Real World Design Challenge will help them further understand what a full and comprehensive education can mean for their future careers."

School teams in the future will be able to enter the Real World Design Challenge, said Ralph K. Coppola, director of the Real World Design Challenge and director of Global Government & Strategic Education Programs with PTC of Needham, Mass, a product development group.

The FAA and other partners joined the initiative "out of concern for the future work force of engineers in the United States," Teri A. Bruner, southwest regional administrator with the administration, said.

Click here to see the list of participating teachers and their schools.