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66 The PCB Magazine • November 2017 FLEXFACTOR: FAITH IN THE FUTURE Just to reiterate, these creative new product ideas have all been pitched by high school stu- dents! These students have all participated in the NextFlex FlexFactor™ program. Growing the next generation of advanced manufacturing workforce is a key component of the NextFlex mission of developing technologies for com- mercial adoption while supporting a sustain- able manufacturing ecosystem. What is FlexFactor? This program is designed to enable youth to engage with next generation technology through entrepreneurial immersion. Over the course of this program, students work in teams to conceptualize a flexible hybrid (FHE) elec- tronics-based hardware device that solves a hu- man health issue or performance monitoring program, develop a business model around the opportunity, and pitch "Shark Tank" style to a panel of industry representatives. In the pro- cess, students become immersed in advanced technology and entrepreneurship, are inspired by the advanced manufacturing industry seg- ment, and gain a deeper understanding of the education and career pathways for the future. This four-week program kicks off in the classroom where students break into teams, are given the mission, the building blocks of flexible hybrid technology, and can define the problem and research hypothesis. Throughout the program, students interact with assigned technical mentors as they develop their prod- uct idea. The next week, students take a field trip to tour an advanced manufacturing facil- ity that provides a deep dive into the world of hybrid and flexible technology and gives the students the opportunity to interact with man- ufacturers, technicians and engineers to get a sense of what is like to work in these environ- ments. The third week is a field trip to a local community college where students sit in on two, 90-minute entrepreneurship lectures and experience the feel of college life. The final week each team pitches their product idea, in - cluding target market analysis and cost vs. rev- enue projections, to industry experts. Through this program, each student is enrolled in the community college and receives college credit upon completion. How much fun would that be! With enroll- ment skyrocketing, the program is obviously engaging students and sparking interest. Brynt Parmeter, director of Workforce Development at NextFlex, explained that the first session start- ed in the fall of 2016 with eight students partic- ipating. Following its fourth session the spring of 2018, the program will have had over 2,000 participants. That is amazing growth and speaks volumes about the program. I had the opportunity to speak to Jordan Tachibana, who was part of the group respon- sible for the Asthmex product. Jordan had been taking business classes with a marketing ma- jor focus and was introduced to this program through a teacher describing the program as an entrepreneurship program with an emphasis on advanced manufacturing.