CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
6 January 2011
Company News
PTC’s Support for FIRST Robotics Competition Continues to Focus on STEM Education for Youth
Answering the call to promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) educational opportunities, PTC announced that it is continuing its support of the FIRST ® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition (FRC®). Building on previous years of support, PTC will sponsor nearly 100 FRC teams as well as more than 35 FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC®) teams throughout 2011. PTC will also be speaking at the 2011 FRC Kickoff event scheduled for Jan. 8th, in New Hampshire, where this year's game will be unveiled. The event will be broadcasted live to tens of thousands of participants on NASA TV.
"We are pleased to partner with companies like PTC who are truly committed to the values of FIRST and share the goal of helping students develop skills to become our engineers of the future," said Jon Dudas, president, FIRST. "PTC provides the same software for students that is used by more than 25,000 leading manufacturing companies around the world, truly allowing them to grow into the type of talent that is in high demand by its customers and the industry."
Reaching more than 212,000 students in grades K-12 annually, FIRST has designed accessible, innovative, mentor-based programs that build STEM skills. These programs inspire young people to pursue STEM education and career opportunities as well as help build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills. PTC is a Crown Supplier to the FRC for the fourth consecutive year and the official CAD and Collaboration Sponsor to the FTC for the third year, providing free software, including CreoTM Elements/ProTM (formerly Pro/ENGINEER®), Mathcad®, Windchill® and CreoTM Elements/ViewTM (formerly ProductView®) to participating teams.
"FIRST has been and will continue to be an important program for PTC. This initiative helps the youth of the world develop STEM skills that are critical not only for their success, but also for the future of innovation in this global economy," said Robin Saitz, SVP, solutions marketing & communications and FIRST Executive Sponsor, PTC. "This year, more than 250 PTC employees have volunteered to support the program and to be mentors to teams. PTC is also sponsoring seven FIRST regional competitions and is assisting FIRST with the expansion of FIRST internationally - all with the goal of creating a lifelong interest in engineering for students."
At this year's launch event, Robin Saitz will be a featured speaker and will discuss why FIRST is an important investment for PTC.
"Using PTC's software, our team the Bionic Barons #2834, is putting in place a real-world design process rather than taking a seat-of-the-pants approach to designing our robot," said Dr. Ed Law, senior engineering specialist for Chrysler. "I am able to teach the students with the same tools that my peers and I use every day in business, preparing them at a young age for future careers in the field."
FRC teams sponsored by PTC include:
Bionic Barons, #2834 |
Newton Ligerbots, #2877 |
The Pink Team, #233 |
The Swartdogs, #525 |
FTC teams sponsored by PTC include:
2 Bits and a Byte, #4029 |
Furious George, #3620 |
Robotnics, #1211 |
Semper Fi, #3621 |
Smoke and Mirrors, #2868 |
Teal Tornadoes, #4105 |
Tminus 10, #4096 |
Ursa Major, #3041 |
About FIRST®
Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and more than $12 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts the FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC® ) and FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC® ) for high-school students, FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL® ) for 9 to 14-year-olds, (9 to 16-year-olds outside the U.S. and Canada) and Junior FIRST® LEGO® League (Jr.FLLTM) for 6 to 9-year-olds. Gracious ProfessionalismTM is a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.
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