Held with SME events, Bright Minds Summits highlight modern manufacturing and career paths for students and educators.
The SME Education Foundation announces the winners of the Bright Minds Student Summit at RAPID + TCT & AeroDef Manufacturing, held April 8-10 in Detroit. Hosted alongside SME conferences and events, Bright Minds Student Summits showcase the high-tech nature of modern manufacturing and promote the industry as an exciting, growing, and lucrative career path to high school students and educators.
The experience takes place over three days and delivers insightful programming featuring guided show-floor tours, technology demonstrations, and speakers, culminating in a friendly, gamified competition among teams. Each day of the Summit ended with the selection of a winning team that excelled in collaboration, innovation, and engagement throughout the event. Each student on the winning teams received an Ender 3D printer, totaling 15 printers awarded across the event.
The 2025 winning schools are:
- Southeastern High School, Detroit, MI
- Lincoln Senior High School, Ypsilanti, MI
- Roosevelt INVEST High School, Hazel Park, MI
The first Bright Minds Student Summit of the year welcomed nearly 200 students, and 40 educators, from 11 schools in Michigan, providing direct exposure to additive manufacturing and 3D printing technologies and how they are applied to manufacturing sectors including automotive, aerospace, defense and more. Of the participating schools, seven are part of the SME PRIME (Partnership Response In Manufacturing Education) network—a signature program of the SME Education Foundation.
Participants engaged with over 30 student-friendly exhibitors across the show floor, exploring real-world applications of advanced technologies and learning directly from industry professionals. Bright Minds Student Summits serve as a launchpad for young talent, providing the inspiration and tools needed to pursue careers in manufacturing and engineering, and act as a platform for manufacturers to engage with the next generation of talent.
Part of a larger national initiative, Bright Minds Student Summits are being held at each of SME’s regional Manufacturing Technology Series events throughout the year, helping to cultivate the next generation of manufacturing leaders from coast to coast.
For more information, visit sme.org.
