HIGHLIGHTING THE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION CENTERS
SPONSORED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
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ATE PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Congress passed legislation in 1992 that created the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program to increase the number of skilled technicians in “strategic advanced-technology fields” and to improve the productivity of American industries.

The National Science Foundation, which funds ATE Centers and Projects with competitive grants, has two central goals for the ATE program. The first is to produce more science and engineering technicians who are well prepared and can adapt to technological changes in their workplaces. The second is to improve the technical skills and the general science, technology, engineering, and mathematics preparation of technicians and the educators who instruct them.

The ATE program focuses on agricultural technology, biotechnology, chemical technology, civil and construction technology, computer and information technology (IT) including cyber security, electronics, environmental technology, geographic information systems, manufacturing and engineering technology, marine technology, multimedia technology, telecommunications, and transportation technology.

The ingenious structure of the ATE program encourages innovations, information sharing, and collaborations that cross disciplines and geographic boundaries.

 ATE Centers of Excellence have broad, comprehensive missions and utilize multiple
strategies to respond to national industry needs.
ATE Regional Centers work with IT and manufacturing industries to increase enrollment and
improve employers’ satisfaction with graduates.
ATE Resource Centers serve as clearinghouses for exemplary instructional materials, best
practices, and professional development.
ATE Projects focus on specific aspects of technician education.

All the ATE Centers and Projects utilize partnerships with industry, business, government, and other educators to achieve improvements in one or more of the ATE program’s goal areas: Enhancement of programs for technicians; professional development for educators; curriculum and educational materials; technical expertise; students’ laboratory experiences; and applied research.

The curricula and programs these truly collaborative educator-industry partnerships create are then disseminated to other educators and industries so they can replicate and refine ATE’s industry-vetted innovations to address local employers’ needs for skilled technicians.

In this way, ATE makes it possible for the best practices in technician education to become standard operating procedures for educators throughout the U.S.