The 17th annual conference of the Advancing Minorities Interest in Engineering at Prairie View A&M University ended Thursday.
This conference visits 14 historically black colleges and universities accredited by the Board of Engineering and Technology.
“This conference includes HBCUs, industry leaders, and government agencies and is important to showcase the talents and capabilities of our HBCUs,” said Myron L. Hardiman, executive director of the AMIE conference.
Most of the attendees were representatives of corporations and universities who discussed issues relevant to minorities in the engineering field. Program topics included impacting tomorrow’s workforce, transition and expectations for tomorrow’s workforce.
Prairie View graduate Chibuike Nwakomma who works in the area of missile defense,
said, “Seeing such growth and progression in the field of engineering on Prairie View’s campus makes me want to see this conference return again.”
Most conference participants said the event was a necessity to the African-American engineering workforce.
Amanda Goodson, a representative from Raytheon, said, “It takes a diverse group of people to further America in engineering and technology. What we want is different minds to do it. This conference shows the students that they can succeed and this gives them the skills and resources to walk into corporate America and succeed.”