ABB sees the need, or do they?

ABB has not yet seen the need to reach lower into the elementary schools to empower engineering and technical educations, but this will certainly help at the graduate school level. This press release came in from Laura Patrick... ABB to support engineering and science educationABB Jürgen Dormann Foundation for Engineering Education will offer scholarships commencing 2008 Zurich, Switzerland, May 3, 2007 - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, will create a foundation with total funding of $16.6 million (20 million Swiss francs) to sponsor talented and needy students in engineering and natural sciences. The ABB Jürgen Dormann Foundation for Engineering Education will support graduate students with an annual scholarship for a maximum of five years. The foundation is named after Jürgen Dormann, who retired from the post of Chairman at today's annual general meeting, in recognition of his contribution to the company. Jürgen Dormann became chairman in 2001 and served as chief executive officer from September 2002 to December 2004. "As a leading technology company engineering is at the core of our activities ," said ABB's President and CEO, Fred Kindle. "We are proud to support the next generation of engineers. Engineering plays an essential role for ABB and also for the technical and economic progress of society ." Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of ability, potential and personal means, and are open to students around the world beginning in 2008. More information for candidates will be available on www.abb.com/foundation in the near future. "ABB's ambitious strategy for growth requires the recruitment of many qualified engineers on a worldwide basis, many of these employment markets have experienced tightening supply in recent years," said ABB's head of human resources, Gary Steel, who will chair the foundation's board of directors. "This foundation encourages high-potential students who may not otherwise be able to continue their education in engineering and natural sciences, and also helps increase the pool of potential ABB employees." The foundation will be run as a Swiss-based not-for-profit organization. Now if we can just get them to focus on helping the people like Tufts University and NI's robotics curriculum, too. Otherwise, they'll continue to be raiding their best customers for quality automation engineers into the next decade.