The SEMI Foundation today announced that it will be celebrating its 10th anniversary of partnership with New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) on August 22-23 in Latham, New York at the NYSUT headquarters. The Foundation and NYSUT will culminate a two-day SEMI High Tech U program for teachers on Wednesday, August 23rd with a reception recognizing industry instructors from Applied Materials and KLA-Tencor for leadership in volunteerism and STEM education.
The SEMI Foundation’s acclaimed STEM program, SEMI High Tech U – Teacher Edition has reached more than 600 teachers in upstate New York since 2007. The two-day teacher program provides industry led, hands-on activities and curriculum that teachers can take back to the classroom in addition to unique opportunities to network with high-tech industry professionals. Teachers-turned-students also tour the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering for a first-hand look at how relevant STEM skills are utilized in a high-tech workplace. This fall, the teachers’ new knowledge will be passed along to their students in the classroom. A retrospective survey of past SEMI High Tech U teacher participants showed that 95 percent of teachers who attend SEMI High Tech U – Teacher Edition gain an increased understanding of the relevance of STEM skills in today’s workplace.
This year’s program at NYSUT is supported by Applied Materials, GLOBALFOUNDRIES and KLA-Tencor.
Leslie Tugman, executive director of the SEMI Foundation, states, “NYSUT is a premier model of how education and industry partnerships can work together for the benefit of all in their region. Through NYSUT’s High Tech U programs for teachers, we have exponentially reached thousands of students to help fill the high-tech talent pipeline.”
All SEMI High Tech U modules are taught by industry professionals and two legacy volunteer instructors, Vincent Villaume of Applied Materials and Jeff Barnum of KLA-Tencor, will be honored at a reception at NYSUT on August 23.