Caterpillar Volunteers Mentor the Next Generation of Engineers

Graduates of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields are a key part of the Caterpillar talent pipeline. Today, our global engineering and technical community is more than 10,000 strong. The Engineering Recruiting and Development team within the Product Development & Global Technology Division (PD&GT) ensures we have a strong pipeline of the best and brightest engineers to lead Caterpillar well into the future. One way they accomplish this is through the administration of pipeline programs for students of all ages.

Working closely with FIRST, an organization dedicated to inspiring student interest in science and technology, Caterpillar sponsors 30 teams of high school students in the annual FIRST Robotics competition. These teams consist of more than 900 students throughout the U.S., UK, Chile and Turkey. Over 200 Caterpillar employees volunteer their time to coach and mentor the teams, and utilize the NPI process to guide students through the competition.

"Mentoring students in FIRST, helping them learn and find their passion, is a fun and rewarding experience," said Mitch Vlaminck, a FIRST Robotics mentor and engineer at the Peoria Proving Ground. "Many students enter the program without an idea of what they want to do in the future and graduate with plans to attend engineering school."

The 2013 FIRST Robotics Competition began last month with a national kickoff event to reveal the 2013 challenge. Called the "Ultimate Ascent," the challenge gives teams six weeks to design, fabricate, build, program, test and ship a robot capable of tossing flying discs into a goal to gain points. You can view a video about the challenge here.

"It is important to get our youth interested and excited about careers in STEM fields, and what better example can we set than to mentor high school students in these fun and creative competitions. Being an engineer myself, I'm proud to see our team at Caterpillar paving the way for the next generation," said Steve Wunning, Group President of Resource Industries.

After completing their robots, teams compete at regional events. Winners advance to the world championship at St. Louis in April. Good luck to our Caterpillar-sponsored teams as they progress through the competition and many thanks to our Caterpillar mentors who support them throughout the process!