First-ever event of its kind will connect top STEM students with aerospace industry, state universities

MADISON, WI. Sept. 25, 2017 – College and high school students interested in learning more about opportunities in the aerospace industry can register now for the first-ever Milwaukee Bucks Aerospace Jam event on Oct. 21 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), the Wisconsin Aerospace Partners, the Greater Oshkosh Economic Development Corporation, and the NASA Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium are teaming up with the Bucks on the half-day event, which will take place prior to a Bucks game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

During the Aerospace Jam, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students will have the opportunity to meet with some of the more than 300 Wisconsin companies that serve the aerospace industry and representatives of state colleges and universities to learn more about career opportunities in the industry.

The event will include informational tables featuring colleges and aerospace companies, as well as presentations and panel discussions by industry leaders.

Advance registration is required and can be completed online at bucks.com/jam. The first 300 students who register will receive entry for free, which includes the Aerospace Jam and one free ticket to the Bucks game that night, as well as a $10 concession voucher. Registrants will have the option to purchase additional tickets after the 300 free tickets have been claimed.

The event will give high school students the opportunity to research colleges that offer degrees in STEM-related disciplines; college students, on the other hand, can interact with aerospace companies that may be hiring individuals with degrees in these disciplines. One of the key goals of the event is to help ensure that STEM students can secure jobs in Wisconsin’s aerospace and aviation industry after they graduate from college.

There also are limited opportunities for representative of the state’s aerospace and aviation companies to exhibit at the event.

The event is one of several initiatives underway to support Wisconsin’s growing aviation and aerospace industry, which employs more than 24,000 people and generates nearly $7 billion in annual economic activity. Wisconsin has more than 300 companies with ties to the aerospace sector, including more than 140 suppliers to Boeing. From 2001 to 2011, the number of jobs in aerospace parts and product manufacturing in Wisconsin increased almost 57 percent.

The Wisconsin Aerospace Partners support organizations engaged with the aerospace industry in Wisconsin by establishing a strong network and support system designed to grow the economic vitality of the state’s aerospace industry.

The NASA Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium, based at Carthage College in Kenosha, is a part of the national network of Space Grant Consortia funded by NASA’s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. Congress established the program in 1988 to contribute to the nation’s scientific enterprise by funding research, education, and public service projects through a national network of 52 university-based Space Grant Consortia.

For more information about the Bucks Aerospace Jam, visit bucks.com/jam or call Philip Fisher of the Milwaukee Bucks at 414.908.3754.