The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) has signed a three-year agreement with the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) to support the organizations’ mutual goal of increasing diversity in engineering. The NSBE hopes to graduate 10,000 Black engineers annually from undergraduate degree programs in engineering by the year 2025. In 2014, 3,501 African Americans earned bachelor’s degrees in engineering.
The agreement calls for collaboration through joint memberships and membership recruitment; engineering education and professional training activities and events; continuing education; research; networking; public outreach and other means.
Kristopher Rawls, a Ph.D. candidate in biomedical engineering and vice chair of the NSBE, stated that “NSBE is excited to work with BMES on engineering exposure outreach activities through avenues such as NSBE’s Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) as well as activities led by BMES.”