Strengthening the STEM workforce through K12 and Community College Outreach and Partnerships

About K12 and Community College Outreach and Partnerships

Pre-Mines Programs

Mines is building accessible pathways into science and engineering through high school collaborations and community college partnerships. 

Summer Multicultural Engineering and Training (SUMMET) is a signature program from Mines Admissions, developed in collaboration with Teach@Mines, Engineering Design and Society, and Mines faculty to encourage rising seniors  to study STEM and learn about college life through a residential summer program on Mines campus.

TRIO Upward Bound Math and Science is a year-long college prep program in Alameda International Jr./Sr. School to encourage students to pursue secondary education in STEM. Includes a four-week summer program, with one residential week at Mines.

Mines Academy is a partnership at select community colleges to provide a seamless transition to Mines through the Associate of Engineering Science degree, campus engagement and access to resources on the Mines campus.

Mines STEM Outreach

Mines is proud of our engineering and science outreach efforts which seek to promote engineering and science awareness, education and engagement in the K-12 and community college student populations of our community. Explore more about our campus outreach.

• Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Community Outreach for girls in grades 1st-12th
• MEP Outreach through professional societies and student organizations
• DECTech is a Computer Science outreach program that supports grades 3-10 in afterschool, summer and other events
• Mirror Mentoring connects Mines and high school students from similar backgrounds to explore why and when engineering and science are good options
• NSF REU SITE: Integrating Computation and Experiment to Create Revolutionary Materials (recruits community college students as well as four-year students)

Proposal Development and Outreach Support

Enrollment Management’s K14 Education and Community Partnerships works with Mines faculty to connect outreach plans to our K12 and community college partnerships. We leverage our partnerships to boost faculty outreach capacity.

If you will be submitting a proposal and would like to include K12 and/or community college outreach as part of Broader Impacts or DEI plan, please complete reach out. Also, see the Mines Research website for the full menu of DEIA and proposal resource options.

For more information: Complete this online request or contact Liz Cox, Director of K14 Education and Community Partnerships at lizcox@mines.edu.

Outreach Opportunities

Are you currently active in K12, community college or community outreach? Please help us learn all the ways that Mines supports STEM outreach:  Faculty Outreach Form

If you are not currently active in outreach, would you like to be added to a listserv to support future outreach opportunities? Please send an email to lizcox@mines.edu.

Examples of outreach opportunities:

• Community College of Aurora students interned in the DOE-funded Rocky Mountain Industrial Assessment Center
• A team of Arapahoe Community College and Mines students are competing in the 3-year Battery Workforce Challenge
• Mines hosted high school interns over summer in a collaboration with Jeffco’s Executive High School Internship Program
• Faculty provided a tour and demos in Mines’ Fuel Cell Center for SUMMET students

Resources for High School Interns on Campus

Information coming soon about the onboarding process for high school students as interns on campus

Mines Programs and Resources for K14 Educators

Professional Development Opportunities for K12 and Community College Educators:

• Cornerstone Design K14 Summer Workshop
• Interdisciplinary Additive Manufacturing Research Experience for Teachers (IAM-RET)
• AI-Powered Robotics Program Research Experience for Teachers
• Summer Workshop on Energy Education for Teachers (SWEET)

Other educational resources:

• Teach@Mines
• Mines Museum
• Rocky Mountain MESA
• Teacher Enhancement Program

STEM Partnerships

M STEM Alliance is a collaboration of Mines, industry partners and alumni to strengthen and diversify pathways into Mines by supporting K12 efforts to grow engineering programming.

M STEM Alliance is currently supporting Jeffco’s Alameda International Jr/Sr school and the Mines SHPE chapter to build an engineering program. The funding supports Mines student mentors, materials for the engineering classroom, and registration fees for STEM events and competitions. Alumni volunteer in the classroom.

Request funding from M STEM Alliance

For more information, please contact Liz Cox, Director of K14 Education and Community Partnerships at lizcox@mines.edu