Siemens Sponsors Northeast Florida Education Consortium Visit to Austin Texas School District's Engineering Career Academy

Lake Travis School District Program to Showcase Career Academy for Consortium Officials 


BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., Feb. 20  /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past few years Siemens Building Technologies, Inc., through its Building Education program has developed a strong relationship with Lake Travis School District in Austin, Texas by helping the District establish an Engineering Career Academy program.  The program is designed to put a rigorous project-based academic curriculum into a career context.  Students are introduced to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) based curriculum and are able to apply their learning to a wide variety of engineering specialties including energy efficiency and sustainability.

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The success of the program in Lake Travis is something that all involved in can be proud of -- so much so that it is now serving as a demonstration site for the Siemens Building Education Engineering Career Academy program. Staff members and faculty from the North East Florida Education Consortium (NEFEC), a support organization of 12 rural school districts in central Florida will visit the program at Lake Travis in February.  NEFEC is committed to studying the feasibility of establishing an Engineering Career Academy for its member Districts and Siemens is committed to helping them accomplish their goal. Through a planning grant awarded by Siemens to the NEFEC Foundation, members will be able to travel to Lake Travis, meet with faculty and students and observe firsthand the Engineering Career Academy in action.

Among its missions, NEFEC was established to provide curriculum and staff development, as well as thought leadership, for administrators and faculty in the consortium. Through its growing relationship with Siemens and Building Education program, Siemens Building Technologies is laying the ground work to establish a similar network of STEM-guided Building Technology Career Academies for NEFEC members.

"What better way to 'show' rather than 'tell' NEFEC about the Career Academy than to host a visit," says Building Education Program director Charley Cohen. "Lake Travis serves as a model for the potential for the Career Academies Siemens helps establish, and they want to share its success with their colleagues and peers. We are delighted to be able to help NEFEC understand how effective this program may be for its members."

Siemens Building Technologies Building Education program is active nationwide supporting STEM initiatives and green curricula development.  The goal is to provide students opportunities that will lead to careers in energy-related fields, including environmental and energy engineering as well as 21st century green technician jobs. The program partners with professional and philanthropic organizations such as the Association for Career Technical Education and the Ford Motor Company Fund.

As a leading provider of energy and environmental solutions, building controls, fire safety and security systems solutions, Siemens Building Technologies, Inc., makes buildings comfortable, safe, secure and less costly to operate. With U.S. headquarters in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Siemens Building Technologies employs 7,400 people and provides a full range of services and solutions from more than 100 locations coast-to-coast. Worldwide, the company has 28,000 employees and operates from more than 500 locations in 51 countries.

For more information on Siemens Building Technologies, visit: http://www.usa.siemens.com/buildingtechnologies 

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CONTACT:  Steven E. Kuehn, [phone], , for

Siemens Building Technologies



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