Corporate
May 9, 2007
Garmin ® Co-Founder Launches Engineering Education Initiative
OLATHE, Kan./May 9, 2007/PR Newswire — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN), today announced that a foundation established by Dr. Min H. Kao, Garmin’s co-founder and CEO, would sponsor the Garmin Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Educational Initiative, designed to help keep the United States competitive in an increasingly technological society.
Endowed with $10 million, the Kao Family Foundation will offer 100 scholarships worth $5,000 per year per student. These scholarships will be awarded to college students who are studying electrical and computer engineering. In addition, scholarship recipients will be given first consideration for one of more than 75 annual paid internship opportunities at Garmin. Housing and health insurance will be provided to interns as well. In total, the package is estimated to be worth up to $20,000 per year to each recipient.
“It is my hope that this program will help attract the best and brightest students to the field of electrical and computer engineering,” said Dr. Min Kao, an electrical engineering graduate. “We believe that this combination of scholarship money and a hands-on experience at one of the world’s premier electronics design and manufacturing companies will inspire college students to commit to an engineering career.”
Many industry experts foresee a large increase in demand for electrical and computer engineering expertise over the next decade, thanks to the rapid growth of our technology-based society – a problem that’s exacerbated by the impending retirement of many “baby boomer” era engineers. Furthermore, studies have revealed an alarming trend that fewer than 50 percent of college students who enroll in an engineering-based curriculum actually graduate with their desired engineering degree.
Six regional universities with core design engineering curriculum are initially targeted for partnership in the Garmin ECE Educational Initiative, including Kansas State University, the University of Kansas, the University of Missouri at Rolla, the University of Missouri, the University of Nebraska, and Oklahoma State University.
To qualify, students must pursue an electrical and computer engineering degree and must achieve and maintain a satisfactory grade point average. Implementation details will be left up to the partnering schools who are the best qualified to maximize the impact and effectiveness of the program. Past recipients will be given priority consideration to renew their scholarship and internship yearly, based on eligibility. Students may apply through their school’s financial aid office.
About Garmin
Garmin International, Inc. is a member of the Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq:GRMN) group of companies which designs, manufactures, markets, and sells navigation, communication and information devices and applications -- most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin is a leader in consumer and general aviation navigation and its products serve the automotive/mobile, outdoor/fitness, marine, and aviation markets. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/pressroom or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin is a registered trademark of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
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