Smartforce Student Summit at IMTS 2022

The Smartforce Student Summit will be held at IMTS. Produced by the Smartforce Development team of AMT, which owns and operates IMTS, the Student Summit brings students from elementary school through college, scout troops, robotics and STEM clubs, home-schooled students, and educators of all levels to explore the latest Industry 4.0 digital technologies driving manufacturing today.

Students can look forward to fun, interactive, and engaging exhibits from leading manufacturers demonstrating technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, virtual reality, generative design, and digital twin. The event benefits educators by informing curricula to ensure classrooms align with standard practices of the manufacturing workplace to include shop safety, technical skills and acumen, problem-solving, and critical thinking.

New in 2022, attendees will go beyond learning about manufacturing technologies to better understand how advanced machinery and software synchronize to build needed equipment and infrastructure for cutting-edge products and programs across industries. Exhibits include NASA Artemis, which relies on advanced manufacturing for long-term space exploration and the agency’s upcoming return to the moon, and Boston Dynamics, featuring Spot the Robot Dog, a revolutionary robot that combines automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

This year, Smartforce Career Connections will allow exhibitors at the summit to display QR codes that, when scanned, link students directly with job opportunities in manufacturing technology.

The summit plays a key role in AMT Smartforce Development’s efforts at guiding students toward fulfilling and well-paying careers in manufacturing, as well as updating the perception of manufacturing as a technology-driven, digital field. At IMTS 2018, over 24,000 attendees visited the summit, representing a diverse population of students and young people of all ages, backgrounds, and groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in manufacturing. The summit collaborates with the Miles for Manufacturing (M4M) 5K Race held at IMTS and other AMT events throughout the year for additional funding and support. All fees and proceeds of the M4M 5K are donated to community-based organizations that champion students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), CPS STEM schools, and FIRST robotics teams to promote education and career pathways to manufacturing.