THE Air Force, as part of its recruitment efforts, is approaching young people for help in solving real-world technological problems using a collaborative online platform.
The initiative, which will be introduced on Thursday, will create a digital program called the Air Force Collaboratory, in which young people will be challenged to develop technologies for search-and-rescue operations in collapsed structures; to create software code for a quadrotor, a type of unmanned, aerial vehicle; and to determine where to place the newest GPS satellite.
The Air Force hopes the program will attract students in so-called STEM subjects — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — to work with its airmen on developing solutions for the three challenges, and, ideally, consider enlisting.
The initiative — which the Air Force will promote through digital advertising, social media and partnerships with groups like Discovery Education — is the latest recruiting effort created for the Air Force by GSD&M, an agency based in Austin, Tex., that is part of the Omnicom Group.
GSD&M has been the Air Force’s agency since 2001, developing campaigns to help it attract the over 28,000 recruits it needs annually; the agency said its work had helped the Air Force meet its recruiting goals each year.
GSD&M’s recruiting strategy for the Air Force — which has always sought tech-savvy candidates — previously featured an “Airman Challenge” online video game. A separate campaign included television spots whose theme was, “It’s not science fiction.”
Col. Marcus Johnson, chief of the strategic marketing division of the Air Force Recruiting Service, said the Air Force focused on “going after the best and brightest young men and women, with an emphasis on the STEM subjects. Whether they’re in high school or college, those topics translate into what we do in the Air Force.”
He said the collaboratory program was meant to appeal to men and women ages 16 to 24, including high school students still determining their future plans.
Ryan Carroll, a creative director at GSD&M, said the Air Force was “very much like the Apples and Googles of the world in recognizing the huge need for scientists and engineers. They reach out to kids at an early age and show them the amazing things they can do with science and technology.” He pointed to initiatives like the Google Science Fair, an online, annual, global science competition for teenagers, as an example.
Similarly, the collaboratory program aims to “inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians, and to show them all the amazing, science-related things the Air Force does,” Mr. Carroll said. The program will also allow students to “participate and solve real problems the Air Force solves every day,” he added.
Young people will be able to learn more about the initiative’s challenges at the Web site airforce.com/collaboratory, which will act as a forum. Challenge participants will be able to use custom-built tools to share ideas and work with airmen and other experts to develop solutions.
Not surprisingly, digital media will primarily be used to promote the program. Custom editorial content is being developed for the STEM hub of Good.com, a global community of “pragmatic idealists,” while custom videos are being filmed for DNews, an online video series from Discovery Communications; the videos will feature the DNews hosts Trace Dominguez and Anthony Carboni. The technology network Technorati is asking bloggers to create custom posts on the collaboratory and related subjects, while the Air Force will pay to place videos on Web sites like YouTube, Blip and Machinima. In addition, the Air Force will promote the initiative on Facebook and Twitter.
Digital banner advertising will run on the Web sites of Scientific American, Popular Science and The Verge. One set of ads depicts an Air Force helicopter approaching a scene of destruction after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that has trapped dozens of survivors. The copy reads, “Your idea could save them. The Air Force Collaboratory. Search and rescue 2.0 is now open. Start collaborating.”
The Air Force also is working with Discovery Education, a division of Discovery Communications, on an outreach program for high school science and math teachers.
Colonel Johnson said that although the collaboratory would run through November, new challenges could be created after that. In addition, he said the Web site would carry no overt recruiting messages, nor would the Air Force actively recruit challenge participants, since the initiative was meant to raise interest in the Air Force and possibly encourage participants to seek out more information about opportunities there.
The Latest Bing News on:
Air Force Collaboratory
- Tag: Commemorative Air Forceon May 27, 2022 at 8:05 am
Throughout May, aviation history blasts out of the museums and into the skies as the Commemorative Air Force thunders into ...
- Unvaccinated Air Force Academy seniors graduate but watch from bleachers, source sayson May 25, 2022 at 3:44 pm
The U.S. Air Force Academy commencement ceremony was a bittersweet event for three senior cadets who had met academic requirements but refused to comply with a military mandate requiring the ...
- Air Force Academy graduates nearly 1,000 on day of mixed emotionson May 25, 2022 at 2:05 pm
Mixed emotions swirled in the air, along with a persistent wind, at Wednesday’s Air Force Academy graduation. Nearly 1,000 seniors, aware that they would only be cadets for a few more minutes, sat on ...
- What does 'community policing' even mean? Outdated buzzwords can't fix policing problem.on May 21, 2022 at 5:49 pm
Each police force has defined and applied it differently. Story continues In 2014, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, whose membership represents the largest police agencies in North America ...
- Where to watch the Air Force Academy graduation Thunderbirds air show in Colorado Springson May 20, 2022 at 12:19 pm
There are several places to watch the Thunderbirds air show that closes out the graduation ceremony held Wednesday at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
- Air Force sets record with $532 mil contract for Tyndall rebuildon May 19, 2022 at 3:09 pm
The Air Force has taken a huge step toward the rebuilding of Tyndall Air Force Base. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded the $532 million construction ...
- New Air Force One planes could be up to three years lateon May 19, 2022 at 11:05 am
"We are way off the initial plan," subcommittee chairman Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., said in Thursday's hearing.
- KBR to Support Key U.S. Air Force Initiatives Through Award of $106M in Task Orderson May 19, 2022 at 4:00 am
HOUSTON, May 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- KBR (NYSE: KBR) announced today that it was awarded two task orders under the Department of Defense Information Analysis Center's (DoD IAC) multiple-award ...
- Razorback ROTC receives STEM granton April 28, 2022 at 8:32 pm
The Arkansas High School Air Force Junior ROTC program recently ... attend the award ceremony May 4 at the LSU-Shreveport Cyber Collaboratory. The ceremony will air on the "Rick Rowe Morning ...
- Podcast Series: Innovations in Educationon April 3, 2022 at 3:16 pm
The STEM projects will be hosted through the Air Force Collaboratory, a partnership between the U.S. Air Force and GOOD, a social network for activism, launched Aug. 1 and will remain active through ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Air Force Collaboratory
The Latest Bing News on:
Students solving real world problems
- Editorial: Apprenticeship could solve workforce, student loan problemson May 28, 2022 at 3:01 am
As school years are ending and students are graduating, there is a lot of moving on to start new phases of life. The focus for that tends to be on starting college. That’s an important step and helps ...
- These young people are solving 'wicked problems' with circular solutionson May 27, 2022 at 1:36 am
Solving wicked problems is the challenge for the Wege Prize, an annual competition that invites college and university students around the world to "collaborate across institutional, disciplinary and ...
- The Actuarial Foundation Selects the Middle School Student Winners of The Hardest Math Problem $5,000 Award Prizeon May 25, 2022 at 12:33 pm
The Actuarial Foundation is proud to announce the winners in this year's Hardest Math Problem Student Contest, a national middle school math competition designed to help students practice critical ...
- Bournemouth University: Bournemouth University Business School students solve sustainability problems for the Ministry of Defenceon May 23, 2022 at 7:57 pm
The Bournemouth University Business School has launched a new module, Hacking for Sustainability, a mission-driven entrepreneurship, to its Business and Management students as part of their degree whi ...
- Textbooks Need More Real-World Math Exercises, Study Findson May 16, 2022 at 1:09 pm
A study of 8th grade textbooks in the United States and 18 other countries says most rely too much on basic computation problems.
- Solving problems creatively: Rose-Hulman students showcase projects from assisted living devices to a mobile greenhouseon May 6, 2022 at 4:18 pm
The Rose Show has been referred to as the institute’s version of The World’s Fair, with projects illustrating the creativity and problem-solving skills of students. Most are seniors completing ...
- Students Use LEGO NXT Robots, Sensors to Solve Real-World Problemson May 5, 2022 at 5:00 pm
Coach Mary Dubois says Murphy was tasked to solve a real-world problem - in this case ... intuitive graphical icons and wires that resemble a flowchart. NI tries to get students as young as 7 years ...
- Ditch Those Math Worksheets. The Case for Teaching Real-World Problem Solving in K-5on May 3, 2022 at 12:04 pm
And we’re just not helping our students develop those kinds of capabilities” in most schools. The benefits of a real-world problem-solving approach can stick with students for years ...
- Solving real-world problemson April 30, 2022 at 6:13 am
University of Idaho biological engineering student Melissa Huchet says the leg exoskeleton she and four classmates created can provide walking assistance to people with multiple sclerosis, like her ...
- The World of ‘Real’ Problem Solvingon May 17, 2021 at 7:05 pm
Do engineers strike you as the type to be constantly hunkered over a desk, working on mysterious and complicated projects which may seem removed from the everyday, ‘real’ world? Not Dartmouth ...