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Work RERC to Partner with NISH for JWOD/JETS National Engineering Design Challenge for High School Students

Competition winner with a trophy

Do you know any high school students interested in developing solutions for people with severe disabilities? CATEA's WorkRERC and NISH are looking for students to participate in a design challenge.

The JWOD/JETS National Engineering Design Challenge is an opportunity for students in grades nine to twelve to apply their engineering skills to solve real workplace accommodation problems that affect many people with severe disabilities. Students are given real life problem scenarios and are challenged to apply engineering design and assistive technology to develop possible solutions. The design challenge is cross curricular, and also provides students with an opportunity to learn more about disability and the engineering professions.

The Work RERC is excited to contribute to the 2007-2008 competition. In 2006, more than 80 teams from around the United States and territories registered for the competition and designed assistive technology devices to help people with disabilities advance in the workplace. This year, five teams will win a trip to Washington,DC to participate in the National Finals on February 15, 2008. Prizes of $1500 to $3000 will be awarded to the top three teams.

To participate, teams must register online by October 26, 2007 at http://www.jets.org/programs/nedc/registration.cfm. For more information, e-mail nedc@jets.org.

NISH is a national nonprofit agency whose mission is to create employment opportunities for people with severe disabilities by securing Federal contracts through the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Program for its network of community-based, non profit agencies. The Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) is a nonprofit education organization established in 1950 to inform and excite young people about careers in engineering.

Contact/Registration

Email: nedc@jets.org
Register: http://www.jets.org/programs/nedc/registration.cfm