For Immediate Release:
SOCHE, Sinclair Community College, NextFlex®, MMEC, and Wright Brothers Institute Launch 2025 STEM Teaching Aide Internship with New Focus on Tech Impact and Data Tracking
Dayton, OH – June 26, 2025 – The Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE), Sinclair Community College, NextFlex, Midwest Microelectronics Consortium (MMEC), and Wright Brothers Institute (WBI) have once again partnered to launch an expanded STEM Program for high school students interested in immersive STEM education, digital transformation, and defense technology innovation.
Running from June 9, 2025 to July 18, 2025, the program is based at WBI's 5000 Springfield Street location in Dayton, Ohio, and includes site visits to regional companies and universities throughout southwestern Ohio. This year, 16 high school interns representing the Greater Dayton areas will participate in hands-on programming that bridges technical skill-building and experiential education.
Wright Brothers Institute (WBI), an innovation and technology commercialization hub is supporting the region’s talent pipeline for organizations like the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), by adapting their disruptive innovation practices, collaborative ecosystems, and advanced facilities to accelerate solutions for national defense and commercial entities with STEM-focused curriculum.
As part of WBI’s Summer of Innovation/STEM Education Program, Sinclair Community College will once again deliver a condensed version of the FlexFactor® program—developed in collaboration with NextFlex® Learning Partners—which challenges high school students to explore flexible hybrid electronics, advanced manufacturing, and entrepreneurship.
New in 2025, WBI interns will also contribute to strategic initiatives that enhance the institute’s long-term impact, including:
Researching and evaluating tools for tracking technologies and companies WBI collaborates with, particularly to assess their long-term economic impact.
Compiling a report and recommendations on effective tracking methods that minimize manual data entry—considering integrations with WBI’s proprietary SCOUT platform or other commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions.
Developing a preliminary dashboard concept—internal or public-facing—to communicate WBI’s return on investment (ROI) and effectiveness as a defense tech commercialization partner.
High School Interns will also:
Deepen their understanding of FlexFactor and digital transformation principles such as rapid prototyping, artificial intelligence, digital twin, computer aided design (CAD), advanced modeling, cyber security, quality assurance, data acquisition, and visualization.
Mastery of soft-skills and real-world readiness elements that include computational thinking, collaboration, interviewing, resume building, financial literacy.
Participation in the exposure to commercialization and manufacturing processes at leading business in the Greater Dayton and Cincinnati regions.
College interns will serve as teaching aides and mentors for high school participants, supporting teaching plans and guiding student teams.
Apply their knowledge to develop FlexFactor projects, solving real-world challenges sourced from the FlexFactor Flexible Electronics Consortium.
The program curriculum, developed by Sinclair Community College and additional collaborators, empowers students to gain valuable technical, communication, problem-solving, leadership, project management, and adaptability skills.
This paid internship offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to engage with the region’s defense innovation ecosystem, contribute to real projects, and build lasting professional skills at the intersection of education, technology, and national security.
About Wright Brothers Institute
Wright Brothers Institute (WBI) is a technology innovation and commercialization hub that accelerates the transition of emerging technologies into warfighter capabilities. Through collaboration, experimentation, and engagement with government, industry, and academia, WBI tackles complex challenges in defense and national security.
About Sinclair Community College
Sinclair is one of the nation’s top community colleges, known for providing accessible, high-quality education and workforce development programs. Through its partnership with NextFlex, Sinclair delivers FlexFactor to promote STEM education and entrepreneurial thinking among high school students.
About NextFlex®
NextFlex is a public-private partnership advancing U.S. manufacturing of flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) and cultivating the next generation of innovators through education and workforce development programs like FlexFactor.
About Midwest Microelectronics Consortium (MMECTM)
MMEC leads the Midwest region’s efforts in microelectronics innovation and technology transition, playing a central role in the Department of Defense’s Microelectronics Commons Program.