Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris is me
FIRST in college does nothing to advance the goals of FIRST. I honestly don't see how it has a purpose.
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Well Chris, let me take a minute to enlighten you! Have a look at the vision and mission of FIRST found here:
http://usfirst.org/aboutus/content.aspx?id=34.
Right off the bat, Dean has always been clear:
"To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders." - Dean Kamen, Founder
The principle behind collegiate level first is to, in Dean's words, create the NCAA of FIRST.
The goal is to not only challenge college students at a greater level beyond what they see in typical curriculum, but to also provide inspiration to younger FIRST students in the other programs. Students play sports with dreams of becoming professional athletes. In FIRST there is much less visibility for our professionals, with the Collegiate Challenge we are building another venue through which to have a window into that world.
As it stands, a large majority of FIRST students do head off to college; this is terrific, but it takes more than just a college education to be a leader and innovator in today's world. That's where the values pervasive to FIRST provide the complimentary education necessary to excel.
I hope that helps provide a bit more insight! We will have an official release in the near future and it should paint a more broad picture of where we are headed.
I should also mention that the Collegiate level of FIRST will continue to embrace the values of community and Gracious Professionalism, and hopefully take things to an entirely new level!