Engineering Ambassador Network: Professional Development of the Engineering Ambassadors

Abstract

He serves on the advisory board of the Engineering Ambassador Network. With Melissa Marshall and Christine Haas, he teaches advanced presentation skills to Engineering Ambassadors in workshops across the country.

What and who is an Antarctic ambassador?

“…Rather than having been adopted into the theoretical framework of a specific discipline, the concept has been used across multiple fields of study and practice, including literature (Karmi, 2008), action research in developmental theory (Mullett, Jung, & Hills, 2004), training and communication programmes (Garner, Alley, Haas, Sontgerath, & Kaplan, 2017), medicine (Hubble & Solovey, 1994), organisational citizenship (van Zoonen, Bartels, van Prooijen, & Schouten, 2018) and place management and citizenry (Hamilton, 2010; Taecharungroj, 2016). It has also been adopted in strategies relating to the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths (Anagnos, Lyman-Holt, Marin-Artieda, & Momsen, 2014; Garner, Haas, Alley, & Kaplan, 2018; Lucas et al, 2014; Renaud & Renaud, 2013; Talbot et al, 2013). Most frequently, it has been used in relation to marketing and branding (Debenedetti & Oppewal, 2012; Ghasemi, Del Chiappa, & Correia, 2017; McGregor, 2018), where brand ambassadors are commercially sought-after individuals who are convinced about the characteristics of a certain brand to the point where they advocate its use to others.…”

An Evaluation on Engineering Identity of K-12 Youth Using the Engineering Ambassador Network (Evaluation)

“…Industry and university outreach programs are also being used to fill in the gap [4]. The Engineering Ambassadors Network (EAN), formed by Pennsylvania State University in 2009, is one such outreach program [17]. The Engineering Ambassadors Network is now a collaboration of thirty universities nationwide, dedicated to K-12 engineering outreach [17], [18].…”

“…The Engineering Ambassadors Network (EAN), formed by Pennsylvania State University in 2009, is one such outreach program [17]. The Engineering Ambassadors Network is now a collaboration of thirty universities nationwide, dedicated to K-12 engineering outreach [17], [18]. The University of Nebraska chapter of the Engineering Ambassadors Network (N-EAN) was established in 2015 in order to provide a mechanism for K-12 engineering outreach across the state.…”

“…And finally, the messages are delivered using advanced presentation techniques taught to the EAs during their training. Presentations are TED-style talks that are engaging for young audiences [17], [20].…”

“…Are there ways to quantify the effectiveness of a program? Regarding the EAN, studies have been done on the benefits of the program to the EAs themselves [17]. However, very little quantifiable data has been collected on the program's effect on K-12 audiences other than number of youth reached.…”