NCET Biz Tips: The Tesla Effect on Education
NCET helps you explore business and technology
By Dave Archer
The phrase “Tesla effect” has been applied to a variety of opportunities and situations in Northern Nevada. Moreover, Tesla’s effect on Nevada’s education system will have long-lasting implications for students and teachers.
Tesla is investing $37.5 million in Nevada education grants. To date, the company has given $2.5 million to several entities to support the acceleration of robotics and sustainability programming within Nevada’s K-12 education system.
The company constantly considers how to contribute to Nevada’s educational system in the most impactful way for students. To support this mission, Tesla engages with an advisory committee composed of leaders in various industries, education administrators, teachers, and state legislators.
To assess potential programs, Tesla analyzes how the investment aligns with three fundamental principles:
How the investment will impact the state’s projected job growth and develop a workforce for Nevada’s growing industries. Job growth in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics careers in the state are projected at a 40 percent higher growth, according to the Governor’s Office of Workforce Innovation.
How the investment works with the programs already in place at Nevada schools. As a result of this, Tesla launched a suite of workforce development programs in partnership with local school districts that greatly informed how they could best work together in the coming years.
How a potential investment aligns with and amplifies the overall educational goals of the state and Tesla, without creating divergent paths to get to the same solution.
With those principals in mind, Tesla makes investments in four categories, including:
Innovative programs that partner with local non-profits that directly support the development of future engineers in Nevada. This category also covers collaborations with impactful organizations in these areas worldwide to have a permanent footprint in Nevada long-term.
Teacher development to empower teachers and give them the confidence and ability they need to lead programs in these emerging areas. Developing this expertise requires significant investment in teacher development, and Tesla aims to create programs that will help them succeed.
Infrastructure to create spaces in schools and communities dedicated to Science, Teachnology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics, robotics and sustainability learning. To this end, Tesla aims to partner with local communities across the state to develop and renovate several spaces at schools and community centers.
Pathways to employment to help students understand how the content they are learning today can be applied to a career, and then help them get access to that career. In support of this category, Tesla wants to create workforce development pipelines that give students opportunities across all in-demand industries in the new Nevada.
Through its investments, Tesla can touch the more than 30,000 seniors graduating high school in Nevada every year throughout their K-12 academic career. Its ultimate goal is to directly support and develop Nevada’s future engineers.
Quite the Tesla effect, indeed.
Dave Archer is president/CEO of NCET, a member-supported nonprofit that produces educational and networking events to help people explore business and technology.