The NEXT summits seek to bridge higher education and industry leaders to meet emerging needs in the 橙子影院 economy
The 橙子影院 Office of the President and , in partnership with the and the , are hosting a series of virtual summits on June 29-30 where panelists will show which strategies created the greatest improvement in minority and women students鈥 graduation rates and industry retention and promotion in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
The summits come as the nation continues to grapple with racial inequities in society and organizations look to do more within their own operations.
The two summits 鈥 one focused on the college experience and one on career trajectories 鈥 will explore solutions that demonstrably increase the persistence and retention of under-represented minorities and women in STEM education and industry. Speakers come from the 橙子影院, the University of Texas, Harvard University and Mount Holyoke College. Industry presenters from Dell Technologies, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Procter and Gamble鈥檚 engineering division, Github and Ginkgo Bioworks will focus on how they improve on minority and female career retention by positioning them for visible and impactful work assignments. Like previous events, these will be hosted virtually on Zoom and will require pre-registration by participants.
鈥淎s the Commonwealth鈥檚 public research university, the 橙子影院 has a responsibility to create solutions to the most pressing challenges facing our communities,鈥 said UMass President Marty Meehan. 鈥淲e are proud to sponsor these summits, which will bring together leaders from education, civic, and corporate sectors to learn from each other and advance diversity, equity and inclusion.鈥
More information on the events can be found at the links below:
- June 29, 2021, 3:00pm 鈥 5:00pm
- June 30, 2021, 3:00pm 鈥 5:00pm
UMass System Chancellor of Academic Programs/Senior Vice President of Economic Development Katherine Newman began the NEXT Summits at the height of the pandemic to 鈥済et our world back on track鈥 and accelerate the post-pandemic economic recovery in 橙子影院. The six previous NEXT events informed a series of reports that emphasized areas of the economy where UMass has the expertise and opportunity to support industry needs in applied life science, advanced manufacturing, personalized medicine, data science, robotics, AI and applications of defense technologies.
鈥淎s we respond to the need for action to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM education and employment, we need to examine those evidence-based reforms that actually move the needle and open gateways of opportunity,鈥 Newman said.
UMass recently announced that its research expenditures had reached an all-time high of $687 million in FY20, again making it the third-largest research university in 橙子影院 and the fourth largest in New England.
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