2019 ATE PI Conference: A Student Perspective

A Student Perspective

Quinlan Smith, Isaac Hernandez, Diana Perez, Wing Cheung

At this year’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Principal Investigator (PI) Conference, held in Washington DC from October 23 – 25, 2019, the UASTEP program and the National GeoTech Center were represented by three Palomar College students who are in the College’s geospatial technology and drone technology programs. As this is the first time that these students attended and presented their work at the ATE PI Conference, we have compiled some of their reflections and key takeaways below.

The students especially appreciated the opportunity to learn from other students at the poster session, as well as the “unique opportunity to meet with some of the managers/professors that are creating/implementing training course/programs in advanced technologies” around the country. Additionally, another student remarked that by learning about related geospatial and drone programs during the showcase, it “gave me a real appreciation of for the education I’m attaining and how the skills I’m developing will serve me in my future educational and GIS/remote sensing aspirations.”

The students were also inspired by the keynote address on the future of the evolving STEM workforce, and “the importance of resilience, continuing education, and building and nurturing social skills/network for success in our nation’s uncertain, high-tech future.” However, a student also suggested for additional time to be devoted to student/faculty roundtable discussions, which “could provide a unique opportunity for the cross pollination of ideas and an honest lessons-learned discussion.”

Overall, the student participants characterized the conference as “valuable”, “beneficial”, and “informative”, and “hope more students are able to attend in the future.”