Ian Egan 
The Conrad Foundation fosters future generations of explorers and scientists
Hear more from Nancy Conrad and other innovative analysts, thought leaders, and educators at the 2018 Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC), January 23-26 in Orlando, Florida. Learn more here.
As the founder and leader of the Conrad Foundation, Nancy Conrad sees her mission as inspiring young minds to design their futures in the fields of aerospace, energy, cybertech, and health. She dreams of a global community of students across all cultures, national lines, barriers, and obstacles that will embrace her “No Box Thinking” philosophy that’s dedicated to inspirational and competency-based learning.
The Conrad Foundation’s Conrad Design Method was created to help students across the globe to learn how to think and solve the problems they face in their worlds by providing them with an organic STEM framework with communication and collaboration tools to inspire innovation and entrepreneurship. It allows students and teachers to co-create and co-mentor with each other. As Nancy says, “When you open up an opportunity for young minds to solve challenges, you’ve opened up a whole new way to learn and to inspire.”
The ultimate goal of the Conrad Foundation is to utilize the available tech that is such an intricate part of a student’s life today to grow a framework that can be used in classrooms around the world.
Nancy believes that by including the voice of young people in this dialog and debate, we can speed up the building of the framework, providing faster solutions to the challenges of the world. A quicker, more efficient collaborative process that not only thinks outside the box but approaches innovation without a proverbial box anywhere close to the conversation. Nancy wants to tie in the creativity and “unbounded nature” of young people to open up a whole new way of thinking that inspires solutions to the challenges of everyday life.
About Nancy Conrad:
Nancy Conrad created the Conrad Foundation in 2008 to energize and engage students in science and technology through unique entrepreneurial opportunities. The organization’s flagship program, the Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge, is a global competition challenging students to combine education, innovation and entrepreneurship to create products that address real-world challenges and global sustainability.
By enabling young minds to connect education, innovation and entrepreneurship, the Foundation helps provide a bold platform for enriching the innovative workforce of the future. As a leader in transformative education, she has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology detailing how the Conrad Foundation exemplifies the use of partnership and mentorship to improve STEM education.
She has been named one of the top 100 leaders in STEM Education. Ms. Conrad serves on the Board of Directors of the Presidential Scholars.
Follow Nancy Conrad on Twitter.
This article was originally published in the Huffington Post .
Nancy Conrad will be presenting at the 2018 FETC conference
AuthorDr. Berger is one of many industry education correspondents for the Mind Rocket Media Group, An educator and former school administrator. He often hosts education panel discussions and develops strategic content. As an academic Dr. Berger is a guest lecturer at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. A former assistant principal, he has been an adjunct undergraduate professor and developer of online college courses. He is a passionate Detroit sports fan who has also adopted Nashville sports teams as his own.
Contact the Mind Rocket Media Group if you are interested in an industry interview and a placement on EdCircuit.
Further Reading
- Getting Smart – How To Grow Unicorns
- Techpoint – Secondary school student? Register for the Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge
- Air & Space Magazine – Made by Nerds, for Nerds
EdCircuit Staff