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Local Area High School Students Present at the Boeing/ACCS FlexFactor Final Pitch Event

May 1, 2019

The Alabama Community College System (ACCS) and Boeing have teamed up with Next Flex to host the Flex Factor Final Pitch Event for select area high school classes. The “shark tank-style” pitches will be held on Thursday, May 2, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm in the Education Training Center at the Space and Rocket Center, 1 Tranquility Base, Huntsville, AL.

FlexFactor is a learning program designed to inform, inspire, attract, and recruit students into the STEM sector through a project-based learning platform designed to immerse student audiences into the blended worlds of technology and entrepreneurship. The program is integrated into an existing classroom and uses a student-led learning approach to expose students to advanced technologies, business models, and the education/career pathways leading into the advanced manufacturing sector.

Over the past 6 weeks, the students have worked in small teams to identify a real-world problem, conceptualize a hardware device to address the problem, identify a target market for the product, and engage in customer discovery research. To guide device conceptualization and business model development, students engaged with industry advisors from Boeing and academic officials from ACCS. During the competition, the student led teams will pitch their products to a panel of representatives from Calhoun Community College, Drake State Technical & Community College, as well as representatives from Boeing, NextFlex, and Department of Defense representatives. All students involved with the program are going through the enrollment process at either Drake or Calhoun Colleges.

To learn more about the event, please contact Janet Kincherlow-Martin, Calhoun’s Dean of Institutional Advancement at 256-306-2561 or Kenya Russell, Drake’s Director of Public Relations at 256-551-3136.

About the FlexFactor Workforce Development Program

FlexFactor is built on the principals of public-private partnership and operates through a strong partnership with key players in the local ecosystem, to include members of industry, K-12 and post-high school education, government, and nonprofits. The program is implemented through a structured platform approach that guarantees partner time and resources are efficiently used towards maximum effect on the student, and ensures participating entities stays true to their organizational identity and do not take on obligations outside their natural scope.

Students are exposed to experiential-based learning, which provides them the opportunity to benefit from a variety of educational pathways. The program optimizes the possibility of continuing to higher learning, as well as engaging with students at an early stage to inspire and attract them to consider technologically advanced careers. Additionally, young women and other underrepresented populations are shown the vibrancy and reach of modern manufacturing.

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