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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – High school students interested in highly skilled, high-paying STEM careers in the future can jump-start their search as part of two upcoming programs at College of Eastern Idaho.

Inside the brand-new Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA) Future Tech building in partnership with Frontier Credit Union, the college is offering a Nuclear Industry Symposium and IDEA Academy to high school students free of charge.
“Our mission really is to help infuse the STEM pipeline. We’re doing things that we know our local employers like the INL [are looking for],” said CEI Associate Vice President over K-14 and Rural Initiatives, Mary Stephenson. “We really want to help students create momentum and also interest in the jobs that are coming their way.’

Nuclear Industry Symposium

250 high school seniors will participate in a Nuclear Industry Symposium held Wednesday Sept. 16 from 9 AM to 3 PM.
“Students that attend will be able to talk to those industry professionals, learn about their own career path, the education and training that they need to get those jobs and start to make those network connections that will really make a difference for them,” Stephenson said.

IDEA Academy
In addition, CEI is launching a three-month-long IDEA Academy on Tuesdays, starting Sept. 22, from 12:30 to 2:30 PM where 20 lucky students will learn to how to master Artificial Intelligence technology.
“This nine-week Idea Academy will focus on AI, where we’ll go over the foundation of AI, how to use it responsibly and ethically, and then how to use it in any future career that they might have,” said BEA Applied STEM Institute Director Frankie Adams. “As you know, we are using AI in almost every sector. It’s being used anywhere from health care to engineering.”
Limited seats are still available in each program for high school students ages 16 and up.

“It will be a hybrid format where they will do some of their learning online, and the labs will happen here inside the STEM Institute,” Adams said.

The college is excited to expand academies for high school students in the future, including an Engineering Academy in March.

“High school students will be able to join a 9 or 12 week academy and walk away with those three things for college, credit, credential and connections,” Stephenson explained.

Both the Nuclear Industry Symposium and IDEA Academy are free of charge, thanks to state grants and partnerships. To register for the program, visit www.cei.edu/stem.
Ultimately, college leaders say the goal is to peak students’ interest and show them the exciting possibilities of STEM careers in the future.
“We want Idaho students to be able to fill these great Idaho jobs that we know are coming and coming quickly,” Stephenson said.

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