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JA Europe and Arconic Foundation Launch Program Focused on STEM and Entrepreneurship in Four European Countries

18 October 2017

The new partnership project ‘Inventing the Future’ blends entrepreneurship and STEM education to bring innovation and creativity into the classroom.

• $260.000 investment over two academic years
• Positively impacting more than 600 young people (15-19 years old)
• Over 50 Arconic volunteers actively mentoring the ‘leaders of tomorrow’

[Brussels, 18 October 2017] ‘Inventing the future’ is an ambitious collaboration between JA Europe and Arconic Foundation designed to bring more innovation to the classroom and encourage students to pursue STEM related careers. Thanks to this new partnership, over 600 students aged 15-19 from France, Germany, Hungary and the UK will benefit from a $260,000 Arconic Foundation grant for the academic years of 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. The initiative will combine STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and entrepreneurship education through national Innovation camps and classroom visits. Students will be mentored by highly involved Arconic business volunteers as they work through different STEM-related challenges in innovation camps, ultimately to help develop their innovation skills.

The activities under this initiative will have a special focus on the next generation of materials and how this material innovation will influence the manufacturing industry and societal challenges such as urban mobility in the next decade. There is a rapid shift taking place in manufacturing from automation to digitalization of information and a skills shortage has been identified by manufacturers globally. To help solve this, Arconic and the Arconic Foundation are committed to preparing the 21st century engineering and advanced manufacturing workforce for success.

“As a cutting edge, highly innovative company, we’re highly engaged and committed to help create interest in and prepare young people for the manufacturing jobs of the future. Our Arconic Foundation supported partnership with Junior Achievement Europe will enable us to reach out to students in our main European geographies and challenge them to help shape the manufacturing industry and materials engineering. We’re very excited to kick off this program and play an active role through our local Arconic volunteers and mentors”, says Francesca Stevens, Director of Government Affairs and Business Development in Arconic. 

STEM education is high on the European Commissions´ agenda, therefore, several initiatives are being developed at the European level. Numerous studies have shown that the number of science and engineering graduates in Europe is declining, while the industry predicts an increasing need for these professionals in the future. JA Europe recognises the importance of entrepreneurship and STEM education raising awareness among policy makers and businesses with its “Switch on Europe” campaign. Arconic and JA Europe strive to encourage more young people to pursue STEM careers or start businesses in these fields, recognizing that Europe’s competitiveness and the future of opportunities lie at the crossroads between STEM skills, innovation and new businesses.

“We are thrilled to start working with Arconic Foundation, whose priorities of preparing the new workforce are much in line with our values at JA Europe. Arconic’s place in the industry is a unique window to new opportunities and career paths for young people.” – says Caroline Jenner, CEO of JA Europe.

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About JA Europe
JA Europe is Europe’s largest provider of education programmes for entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy. In 2016, we equipped 3.5 million students in 40 countries with the knowledge, skills and attitude they require to start a business or get a job. JA works with the education and business communities as well as governments to provide young people from primary school to university with experiences that build the skills and competences they will need to succeed in a global economy. JA Europe is the European Regional Operating Centre for JA Worldwide®.

About Arconic Foundation
Arconic Foundation supports programs that help prepare the 21st century engineering and advanced manufacturing workforce. Arconic Foundation is an independently endowed foundation with assets of approximately $320 million and is the charitable arm of Arconic Inc. – which works in close partnership with customers to solve complex engineering challenges to transform the way we fly, drive, build and power. Through collaboration with our non-profit partners, our initiatives make quality STEM education opportunities available to students; support engineering and technical skills training through community colleges, technical schools and universities around the world; and help to create access for underrepresented individuals to the STEM fields. The work of Arconic Foundation is further enhanced by the thousands of Arconic employee volunteers who share their talents and time to make a difference in their communities. Established in 2016, Arconic Foundation is active in 26 countries around the globe.

About Arconic
Arconic (NYSE: ARNC) creates breakthrough products that shape industries. Working in close partnership with our customers, we solve complex engineering challenges to transform the way we fly, drive, build and power. Through the ingenuity of our people and cutting-edge advanced manufacturing techniques, we deliver these products at a quality and efficiency that ensure customer success and shareholder value. For more information: www.arconic.com. Follow @arconic: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

For press enquiries, please contact:

JA Europe Communications - media@jaeurope.org
Arconic Europe Communications – Jasper van Zon – jaspervan.zon@arconic.com
Arconic Foundation – Suzanne van de Raadt – suzanne.vanderaadt@arconic.com

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