MassDevelopment

MassDevelopment Announces “AMP it up! Challenge,” Third Grant Round to Promote Advanced Manufacturing


October 3, 2014


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086 & 617-448-9077 (cell)
kabbruzzese@massdevelopment.com

$30,000 in prize money to be awarded to winning student groups; matching grants will dispel common misconceptions and bolster prospective employee base for jobs

To celebrate Manufacturing Day, MassDevelopment today announced the “AMP it up! Challenge” to encourage middle- and high-school students to consider pursuing advanced manufacturing careers. The AMP it up! Challenge invites students to research the inner workings of an advanced manufacturing innovation and how it impacts the world by creating a short video highlighting a local advanced manufacturer. MassDevelopment also announced the Agency is accepting applications for matching grants to eligible organizations that will create innovative programs to educate students and adults about career options in advanced manufacturing. The grants are the third round available through AMP it up!, which promotes advanced manufacturing as an attractive career path.

“Manufacturing in Massachusetts is a dynamic, vibrant industry, making videos an ideal platform to showcase the sector,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “Thanks to the work of the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative and the AMP it up! campaign, people across Massachusetts realize that the new world of manufacturing is advanced, technology-based, and innovative. These videos, the additional grants, and the awareness and programs they engender will encourage students to embrace manufacturing as a career.”

Video submissions should answer three basic questions: 1) How is it made? 2) Why does it matter? and 3) What does it mean to me? This format will personalize manufacturing for students and showcase the importance of this vital industry. Winners will get a cash prize that will be donated in their name to their school. MassDevelopment will select one high-school and one middle-school winner from each region of the Commonwealth for a total of ten regional winners who will each receive $2,500. One grand prize winner will receive $5,000.

The AMP it up! Challenge will begin in the second half of the school year and run through the end of spring. Registration for the challenge will close on December 31, 2014. All schools, public and private, are welcome to join. Interested parties can find more information on the AMP it up! Challenge at www.ampitupma.com/challenge.

For the matching grants, eligible applicants must be Massachusetts-based nonprofit organizations that address education and workforce issues. The application deadline is November 14, and grant awards will be made around December 15. In the first two rounds of grants, MassDevelopment provided $201,686 to 21 entities representing 108 organizations across the Commonwealth. Programs ranged from 3D printing and CAD “tinkershops” to career exploration programs and regional robotics leagues. The application is available at http://ampitupma.com/manufacturers/grant_application.

MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2013, MassDevelopment financed or managed 350 projects generating investment of more than $2.4 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create more than 7,000 jobs and build or rehabilitate 800 residential units.