IEEE Activities in Pre-University Engineering, Computing and Technology (ECT) Education

In 2005 the IEEE Board of Directors authorized a new initiative entitled "Launching Our Children's Path to Engineering." The initiative aimed to redefine, expand and institutionalize IEEE activities aimed to increase the propensity of young people to choose engineering as a career path. Two years later, the IEEE is administering - in cooperation with IBM and the New York Hall of Science - TryEngineering.org, the most popular web portal for pre-university students, parents, teachers and school counselors in Engineering, Computing and Technology (ECT) education. The portal has also become popular among university-level students and their educators. In addition, IEEE has expanded widely its Teacher In- Service Program (TISP). TISP prepares IEEE volunteers to train pre-university teachers on approved lesson plans that focus on engineering principles and engineering design. In this paper we describe IEEE's philosophy on pre-university ECT education, review the project's principal activities, highlight principal activities, assess impact, and chart the road ahead. It is obvious that the web portal TryEngineering.org (now available for 15 national university systems and in seven languages) has been the project's greatest success.