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Background
Founded in 1975, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) is dedicated to the academic and professional success of African-American engineering and technical students and professionals. Today, NSBE is one of the largest student-governed organizations serving more than 35,000 members with over 400 chapters in six regions nationwide and overseas.
NSBE’s mission is to increase the number of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community. The primary vehicle by which NSBE fulfills its mission is through creative, engaging and interactive programs. NSBE hosts 18 regional conferences, an international conference, and an annual convention which draws over 8,000 people. NSBE produces two publications: NSBE Magazine and The Bridge Magazine.
NSBE has accomplished more for Black engineering students than any other organization in the world, offering its members a wide scope of services such as leadership training, professional and academic development, mentoring opportunities, career placement services, community service outreach programs and scholarships. NSBE awarded 339 scholarships in 2009 worth $703,000 to pre-college, collegiate and graduate students.
NSBE national programs include:
National Leadership Institute (NLI) is NSBE’s own leadership training and development experience including pre-college students, chapter/regional/national officers and technical professionals. The Institute has matured from a four-day leadership conference to a year round development and training initiative. NLI encompasses the National Leadership Conference, six Regional Leadership Conferences, and leadership enhancement activities and workshop through the year for all members.
The Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) is a free three-week interactive engineering camp for students in third through eighth grades. The program, in its fourth year with 900 students, is intended to build a pipeline of future engineers by introducing students to the field of engineering through hands-on projects and giving them additional skills and confidence in math and science. The program is facilitated by 120 NSBE collegiate members.
T.O.R.C.H. Program was developed in 2000 as the National Society of Black Engineer’s (N.S.B.E.) answer to the Digital Divide. The purpose of the T.O.R.C.H. Community Service Initiative is to encourage community service among our membership and communities that are underserved with regards to digital technology. NSBE members will perform over 50,000 volunteer community service hours in local partner computer technology centers by providing technical assistance to pre-college youth and adults. Members and chapters completing the most community service hours in the program may be eligible for incentive awards for their dedicated service.
Achiever’s Plus (A+) Seminar Series is an activity designed to help NSBE members navigate through their studies successfully and prepare them for possible graduate degrees. NSBE members can participate in monthly seminars via WebEx and Blog Talk Radio to help them shape their vision, manage busy schedules, consider research opportunities, and develop excellent test taking skills.
Governed by a national executive board of college students and engineering professionals, NSBE has a 26 member staff and a $10 million budget.
To learn more about NSBE’s programs, visit their website at http://national.nsbe.org.
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