Steve Delaney | Site Services & Quality Manager, NXP Southampton, United Kingdom

NXP Southampton is using a new planning tool to guide the next generation of technologists and engineers, and more employees are getting involved than ever before.

When Steve Delaney joined the United Kingdom team in Southampton, he found an organization that was already involved in a range of educational programs at local schools, colleges, and universities. Good things were happening, but the activities were fragmented, and there was no way to evaluate proposals for new programs or track the progress of existing ones.

Steve saw an opportunity to add a framework and, as he puts it, “make our efforts more meaningful and more valuable.” His team developed a tracking tool, called the Student Technology Education and Engagement Roadmap (STEER), that monitors the activities and stimulates ideas for new initiatives. The tool identifies student groups by their stage of education, from early secondary school to university post-graduates, along with their topics of interest. It then matches those categories with various activities. NXP gets a clear view of who‘s doing what, and every category of student benefits.

Wherever possible, Steve encourages staff involvement. “Simply writing a check might be easy,” says Steve, “but it‘s a faceless, nameless way to do things. We‘re taking the time to build personal relationships, and we‘re already seeing the positive results.”

In 2007, more than 11% of the onsite staff participated in a face-to-face program. More than 500 students attended NXP presentations at universities and schools, 220 students participated in challenges organized or sponsored by NXP, and more than 1,000 students attended NXP career days. Also, nine students worked on NXP-specific projects, and NXP sponsored two University research programs.