The Henry Ford in Dearborn and the STEMIE Coalition today announced they are partnering to bring invention and entrepreneur education to students around the world. Effective immediately, the STEMIE Coalition will be part of The Henry Ford organization.
STEMIE Coalition is best known for its National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo and has a global reach through its network of affiliate and partner organizations.
The goal of the partnership is to reach more students in the early stages of their education and establish a foundation for curiosity and inventiveness, allowing them to develop those skills so they’re actionable in the real world.
“This is a marriage of missions,” says Patricia Mooradian, president and CEO of the Henry Ford. “The STEMIE Coalition’s mission to train every child in every school in invention and entrepreneurship skills aligns with The Henry Ford’s quest to move our country forward through innovation and invention. This will help us activate the hands-on experiences necessary for learning to a broader, more diverse audience.”
STEMIE hosted its 2018 national competition at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in June. It is the only national celebration of K-12 inventors and entrepreneurs in the U.S. More than 400 students from 20 states and two countries qualified to attend.
“Invention education is critical to realizing the return on investment in STEM learning,” says Danny Briere, CEO of the STEMIE Coalition. “STEMIE is the application of STEM skills while adding Invention and Entrepreneurship. This framework gives kids the skills needed to solve the problems of the world right now.”
At this year’s STEMIE expo, more than half of the inventors were female, more than a third were minority, and one third were from financially underserved communities.
“If taken seriously and intentionally, innovation, invention, and entrepreneurial learning can be used to increase equity and opportunity,” says Mooradian. “This is an investment in unleashing the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs and creating tomorrow’s workforce.”
The STEMIE Coalition is a nonprofit, global consortium of invention education stakeholders and education change agents whose mission is to formalize project-based invention and entrepreneurship education in primary and secondary schools worldwide, with a near-term emphasis on the U.S. It has statewide programs in 23 states and invention convention presence in 46 states. It expects to be active in all 50 states within the next five years.
The Henry Ford is an internationally-recognized history destination that explores the American experience of innovation, resourcefulness and ingenuity that helped shape America. It is a national historic landmark.
