By Dana Ditmore, executive director, ISEF 2010

The next Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, Intel ISEF 2010, will be held May 9–14, 2010. Intel ISEF is the world’s largest international pre-college science and engineering competition. The Fair in 2010 will provide a forum to showcase the creative math, science, engineering and technology projects of the brightest high school students from around the world— illustrating the value of math, science, engineering and technology education to our future.  The vision of this event is to mentor and inspire the next generation of global innovation.  The Intel ISEF 2010 is partnering with the San Jose State University Center for STEM Education.

The fair is supported by more than 6,000 high school teachers, coaches, translators and parents, involving more than 2,000 K-12 students. About 1,400 judges from local and global companies and universities are involved. The breadth of technology is wide (e.g. energy, transportation, environmental science, medicine, health sciences, chemistry, behavioral and social sciences). In addition, ISEF is also global in scope— with regional fair winners from around the world. More than 50 countries will be represented. Nobel laureates (8–12) participate in special student sessions.

The Intel ISEF brings together the world’s most creative and intelligent high school students from over 50 countries to compete for over $3 million in awards and scholarships. This science and engineering fair showcases cutting-edge science projects and allows participants a unique opportunity to network with fellow students, academia, and fair volunteers sponsoring companies and judges as well as the entire technical community. Students are mentored by Silicon Valley companies and organizations volunteers who act as judges and speakers at the event. This network of peers and industry veterans provides a foundation to foster advanced education in the sciences as well as new ideas for future generation technologies.

The seven-day event is an opportunity for Silicon Valley companies to nurture future technology development, encourage advanced education and to establish corporate name recognition for potential future employment. More importantly, this relationship may help to expand the participant’s knowledge of the choices available to them in the technical field. It also introduces Silicon Valley universities and organizations that may facilitate their dreams of achieving such goals.

ISEF provides Silicon Valley companies corporate visibility and access to students. It is an opportunity to nurture and support tomorrow’s science and engineering innovators while also leaving an unforgettable imprint on potential future employees. It also offers networking with colleagues, investors, potential partners and educators.

For information, please visit the Intel ISEF website at http://isef2010sanjose.org. If you have questions on ISEF 2010, please see the chart below:

For information on the SEMI High Tech U program, please click here.

June 2, 2009