Spring Semester 2019 FlexFactor® Finals
NextFlex co-hosted the 4th bi-annual FlexFactor Finals: Silicon Valley in partnership with Evergreen Valley College. During the finals, teams of students who participated in FlexFactor during the Spring 2019 semester were chosen to advance to the final event, where they delivered streamlined versions of their original pitches to a panel that included:
- Maniphone Dickerson, Dean of Business and Workforce, Evergreen Valley College
- Alexandra Duran,Dean of Workforce, San Jose Evergreen Community College
- Eric Forsythe, Ph.D, Team Leader Flexible Displays, Army Research Laboratory
- Victor Freitas, Contracts Manager, NextFlex
- Matthew Gloria- Dalton, Public Information Representative II, Valley Water
- Mark Gonzales Vice President, Evergreen Valley College
- Ed Hendricks, Director of Business Development, NextFlex
- Craig Lynar, Director Marketing and Sales Enablement, Jabil.
- Rachel Michieli, Social Media and Innovation Center Activities Specialist, Dupont
- Nashay Naeve, Product Manager, Dupont
- Kari Skala, Product Test Manager, Cobham
- William Watson, District Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships, San Jose Evergreen Community College
- Claire Wemp, Thermal Applications Engineer, Dupont
Teams who participated in the finals represented multiple local schools and districts, including Willow Glen, Leland, Gunderson, Santa Teresa, San Jose, Wilcox, Santa Clara, and Milpitas High Schools. Product ideas addressed a wide range of problem areas from the tracking of endangered species to advanced camouflage for soldiers. Winning teams from the first night included: Hormonal Balance Monitor from Willow Glen, TASA+ from Milpitas, and Esther from Willow Glen. The second night winners included: Wearrior from Wilcox, Glucose Patch from San Jose, and REMM from Wilcox.
FlexFactor panels judges asking questions and providing feedback to student presenters.
The solutions presented during the final pitches represented exciting answers to some of today’s most challenging problems. FlexFactor’s immersive and student-led approach helps teams learn professional skills ranging from research to critical thinking and creative problem solving. These skills were on display as teams demonstrated their innovative technologies and creative business plans.
NextFlex’s Executive Director, Dr. Malcolm J. Thompson explained, “immersive and experiential learning is critical to attracting and creating the workforce of the future. FlexFactor exposes students to the range of possibility in this field and allows them to learn about advanced technologies and entrepreneurship through the lens of their own passion and interest.”
NextFlex is proud to partner with leading organizations, including Evergreen Valley College, Jabil, DuPont, BD BioSciences, Fetch Robotics, and the Silicon Valley Water District to provide students with the experiences and networks that will help them pursue and establish successful careers.
Contact us at info@nextflex.us to learn how you can bring FlexFactor to your community.
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