Arizona SciTech Festival Launches 4th Annual Celebration of Science and Technology in Arizona

PHOENIX, AZ (February 11, 2015) — Arizona’s largest celebration of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) is here! The Arizona SciTech Festival, anchored at the Arizona Commerce Authority, in collaboration with additional foundational partners including the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR), Arizona Science Center, Arizona State University, Arizona Technology Council Foundation, and the University of Arizona today announced the launch of its 4th annual celebration of science and technology that runs throughout Arizona now to March 31.

This year, Arizona’s city and town mayors joined with business, community and education leaders for the 2015 Festival launch event. The Festival partnered with Arizona’s Telemedicine Program at the University of Arizona to coordinate linkages to statewide regional partners. Through a live video teleconference format, regional partners at multiple sites around the state provided an overview of their planned activities and how the Festival is important to business and talent growth in their communities.

The 2015 SciTech Festival is a statewide collaboration of 45 Arizona communities conducting events showcasing science, technology and innovation in Arizona. More than 500 organizations will be leading over 800 interactive events in February and March. Click to see the 2015 full listing of events and the annual program with more than 750,000 highlights.

“In its fourth year, the Festival has grown tremendously to more than 800 events highlighting the science and innovation across Arizona, as well as career pathways in these critical occupational areas,” said Sandra Watson, President and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. “Our successful engagement with the business community, and continued collaboration with public and community partners in these efforts, is essential to developing a sustainable pipeline of future talent supporting Arizona’s ongoing workforce needs.”

“Cox is proud to be a part of the SciTech Festival for the fourth year,” said Susan Anable, Vice President of Cox Communications-Southwest. “This event celebrates our state’s leadership in science, technology and innovation, and offers students and families a wide variety of events that will open up their minds.”

“The Arizona Board of Regents and Arizona’s universities are working to increase the number of graduates in high-demand fields such as science, technology, math and engineering,” said Eileen I. Klein, Arizona Board of Regents President. “These fields are increasingly important in a knowledge-based economy, and students who graduate with STEM degrees will be equipped with the knowledge to address issues facing our world while ensuring that Arizona meets workforce demands now and in the future.”

According to ABOR, degrees awarded by Arizona Universities in high-demand fields including STEM careers, health professions and other fields have shown significant growth in recent years from 4 percent in the 2009-10 academic year to 47 percent in 2013-14. By the 2019-20 academic year, ABOR expects Arizona to be at 100 percent in producing graduates to meet the needs of high-demand fields.

The Arizona SciTech Festival was initiated to support quality education, a qualified workforce and to identify projected needs for emerging and fast growing job sectors in Arizona’s economy.

For more about the Arizona SciTech Festival, visit: www.azscitech.com.

2015 Arizona SciTech Festival Sponsors:

FOUNDATIONAL PARTNERS: Arizona Board of Regents, Arizona Commerce Authority, Arizona Science Center, Arizona State University, Arizona Technology Council Foundation, and The University of Arizona

PRESENTING: Cox Communications

PLATINUM: Helios Education Foundation

GOLD: State Farm Insurance, Honeywell

SILVER: Yelp, Freeport-McMoRan Foundation, IBM, Nextiva, Eight, Arizona PBS, ASML, iDS Technology Marketing, Maricopa Community Colleges, The Arizona Renaissance Festival, SRP, TRBF

BRONZE: MJS Designs, Harkins Theatres, Intel, PADT, KJZZ, ASU Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, KTAR – Arizona Sports, Grand Canyon University, Arizona Parenting, Clarisoft, Arizona Attorney General, University of Advancing Technology, United Skates, AZ TECH BEAT, U.S. AIR FORCE, Google

COPPER: Arizona Family College Savings Program-Bank Plan, Green Living Magazine, EventInterface, Tonto Creek Camp, Sonoran Schools, BEAR Essential News for Kids, Carrington College, Microsoft

KRYPTON: Phoenix Business Journal, Midwestern University, Arizona Virtual Academy, Biz in a Boxx, Discover the Region Publications, PLTW

TITANIUM: Emerald Computers

Arizona SciTech Festival Contact

Jeremy Babendure, Executive Director, Arizona SciTech Festival, (480) 250-7764, [email protected]

Media Contact

Joseph Valdez, Arizona Commerce Authority, (602) 845-1234, [email protected]

About the Arizona SciTech Festival

The Arizona SciTech Festival is a statewide celebration of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) held annually in February and March. Through a series of more than 800 expos, workshops, conversations, exhibitions and tours held in diverse neighborhoods throughout the state, the festival excites and informs Arizonans age 3 to 103 how STEM will drive our state. Spearheaded by its Foundational Partners the Arizona Board of Regents, Arizona Commerce Authority, Arizona Science Center, Arizona State University, Arizona Technology Council Foundation, and the University of Arizona, the Arizona SciTech Festival is a grassroots collaboration of more than 500 organizations in industry, academia, arts, civic, community and K-12 education. Visit azscitech.com for more information.

About the Arizona Commerce Authority

The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) is the state’s leading economic development organization with a streamlined mission to grow and strengthen Arizona’s economy. The ACA uses a three-pronged approach to advance the overall economy: attract, expand, create – attract out-of-state companies to establish operations in Arizona; work with existing companies to expand their business in Arizona and beyond; and help entrepreneurs create new Arizona businesses in targeted industries. For more information, please visit azcommerce.com and follow the ACA on Twitter at @azcommerce.