MATE ROV Competition

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary helps regional schools participate in the MATE ROV Competition. Check out our video to learn how building submersibles helps students get a leg up on the competition for complex jobs in marine industries from science and exploration to search and recovery -- plus, it's pretty fun! ‪#‎EarthIsBlue‬

Transcript

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary helps regional schools participate in the MATE ROV competition.

The MATE, or Marine Advanced Technology Education, program offers students from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to work in a fast-paced, collaborative, and challenging environment.

This past May, regional competition was held at Alpena High School, near Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, preparing them for real-world jobs that require the use of Science Technology, Engineering and Math. Jobs that are in high demand and growing every year.

It might look like fun and games, but these kids are getting a leg up on the competition for complex jobs in marine industries from science and exploration, to energy, national security, research, and search and recovery.

Students from K-12 and community colleges, and universities can participate in MATE, and the competition is global. In 2014, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary hosted the international competition, and students from teams across the globe gathered in Alpena, Michigan, using the sanctuary’s dive training tank to compete.

Participating in MATE is just one way the National Marine Sanctuaries are helping students in communities prepare for exciting careers in marine industries.

Okay, you are now under your mission time.

At Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, getting young people in the community started in high-tech marine fields is just the beginning. Partnerships with the local community college have allowed students at the collegiate level to develop skills in a unique program of study that trains them on high end ROV equipment and simulators like the one designed by Oceaneering, which allows students to understand how to control complex ROVs for use in the energy industry and beyond.

Connecting communities to real world experiences that help launch and advance careers. Just one part of what we are doing at the National Marine Sanctuaries.

Part of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary’s mission is outreach and education. And this is one of the most important education programs that they run each year.

I teach at Alpena Community College. I do our ROV technology program. It has taught us a lot of real-life skills. I know a few people on my team are using the skills they learned to go on to be engineers or ROV pilots.

We are both employed by Oceaneering International as ROV technicians, and we started through the Marine Sanctuary and Alpena Community College’s Marine Technology Program.

You can learn more about the MATE ROV competition by visiting www.marinetech.org.

And learn more about our educational programs and partnerships at sanctuaries.noaa.gov.