MADISON – Madison County Schools and INTUITIVE Research and Technology Corporation are partnering to offer engineering courses to high school students.

“This partnership will be a first for Madison County Schools and will begin at Madison County High School in August,” John Southerland said. Southerland is Director of Development and Communications for Madison County Schools.

In this partnership, INTUITIVE engineers will work alongside educators to design and implement a curriculum focused on electrical engineering and mechanical engineering disciplines. “Plans to expand the program to other local schools are in the works,” Southerland said.

Student will meet in these classes daily for 85 minutes.

This summer at its headquarters, INTUITIVE will conduct workshops and training for teachers at Madison County High School who will instruct the engineer courses. INTUITIVE engineers also will provide in-class mentorship, hardware and software.

“As a leading engineering company, it’s our corporate duty to give back to our local community. What better way than to provide the resources students need to be successful in their college and professional endeavors,” INTUITIVE President Harold Brewer said.

Madison County Schools Superintendent Matt Massey said this partnership with INTUITIVE has the potential to give students a head start on continued STEM educational opportunities and rewarding STEM careers.

The Electrical Engineering course will concentrate on Printed Circuit Board or PCB Design. Students will learn how to create printed circuit boards in the Diptrace design suite starting with the beginning design stages to the final exporting of manufacturing files.

In Mechanical 3D Design, students will examine basic design processes that mechanical engineers use in a professional design environment. Students will understand basic principles of proper drafting strategy, prototype mockup and 3D modeling skills within SolidWorks design software. 

The PCB Design class will cover all basic design aspects of PCB composition and design and explain the required steps to create printed circuit boards,

Headquartered in Huntsville, INTUITIVE is an aerospace engineering and analysis firm that provides software and systems engineering to the Department of Defense, other federal and state agencies and commercial companies.