JOHNSTOWN - High school students enrolled in Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES’ Engineering Technology program can earn college credits at Fulton-Montgomery Community College as they complete the two-year curriculum steeped in nanotechnology and semiconductor manufacturing.

A National Science Foundation grant helped create the seamless career pathway between high school and college.

The program equips high school students with the science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills and technical expertise needed to step into an associate’s degree program at FMCC.

The college’s electrical technology graduates are ready to land positions at GlobalFoundries or one of the many high tech industries taking root in Tech Valley, thanks to FMCC’s Center for Engineering and Technology.

FMCC unveiled a state-of-the-art demonstration clean room in 2010. Along with the clean room, the college utilized NSF funding to enhance its electronic and robotics labs, providing facilities for students preparing for careers in nanotechnology and the semiconductor industry.

According to HFM BOCES curriculum specialist Mark Tanner, hands-on access to the clean room, electron and atomic microscopes, robotics equipment and other high tech “tools” is a circumstance few school districts could even dream about for their students.

Tanner says the companies settling in Tech Valley expect to hire employees with a certain level of skill and training, something that has made area high schools and colleges take notice.

The program’s curriculum was developed collaboratively, too. A team of area high school math and science teachers and FMCC professors designed the project-based curriculum with a strong emphasis on 21st century skills. An advisory committee made up of Tech Valley industry and education leaders reviewed the curriculum.

Juniors and seniors in the engineering technology program study at BOCES under Edward Lakata, a veteran engineer with more than 30 years of field experience, while spending a portion of their instructional time utilizing the community college’s facilities to complete their projects.

“This cutting edge collaboration between FMCC and HFM BOCES strengthens both institutions and offers students a unique learning opportunity,” said FMCC’s Dean of Business, Technology, and Health Professions Diana Putnam.