Posted in Education

AT&T gives $50K to UWF BEST Robotics Hub

   January 10, 2013

Uwfseal
Press Release: Continuing its dedication to the University of West Florida and BEST Robotics, AT&T presented a $50,000 contribution to support the Emerald Coast BEST Robotics hub at the University of West Florida today at the School of Science and Engineering. The program hosts an annual robotics competition for local middle and high school students who are interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

“The STEM disciplines are at the heart of our business and we understand how essential they are becoming to every business and the growth of our economy,” said Ray Walker, Regional Director, AT&T Florida. “We are committed to helping students succeed and are excited to partner with the Emerald Coast BEST Robotics hub at the University of West Florida to help students develop more skills to enjoy productive and rewarding careers.”

The Emerald Coast hub, which serves the Northwest Florida area, is housed in the UWF School of Science and Engineering. The program relies on corporate and individual sponsorships for funding. The participating students and schools pay no fees, and the hubs provide the material kits to build the robots for the competition.

“We are extremely grateful to AT&T for their generous contribution and the opportunities it will provide for area students,” said Dr. Leo Ter Haar, director of the UWF School of Science and Engineering. “STEM activities with our K-12 partners continue to be an important part of the school’s outreach activities.”

A portion of the funds will go toward awareness events and training workshops to increase the community’s understanding of the robotics field and attract new teachers, mentors and volunteers to help grow the program.

The UWF Emerald Coast BEST Robotics hub is sponsored by BEST Inc., a non-profit, volunteer-based organization. The organization’s mission is to inspire middle and high school students to pursue careers in engineering, science and technology through participation in an annual sports-like, science- and engineering-based robotics competition.

Share:

Rules for Comments

Your comments are welcomed, but there are some rules to follow:

(1) Be Nice. No comments that slander another, no racism, no sexism, no personal attacks.

(2) No Harrassing Comments.

(3) No Libel. That’s saying something is not true about someone. Don’t do it.

(4) Keep it clean. Nothing vulgar, obscene, or sexually related. No profanity or obvious substitutions.

(5) I reserve the right to remove any comments that violate our rules or are inappropriate. I am not responsible for what is posted. Comments may not appear right away until they are approved by a moderator.

(6) Limit your comments to the subject in this story only, and limit comments to 1,500 characters or less. Do not post copyrighted material. Comments will not be added to stories that are over five days old.

(7) No posts may advertise a commercial business, political candidate, or political group. Links in a comment aren’t allowed.

8) Commenting too many times may result in your comments not being allowed. Readers will begin to ignore your views.

9) Email me if you believe a comment violates any of these rules, and it will be deleted.