# How Terrence Southern's K-12 STEM program is Sustaining Talent & Elevating Minds

- Show: [Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour)
- Published: 2022-08-16
- Length: 39m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-08-16-how-terrence-southerns-k-12-stem-program-is-sustaining-talent-elevating-minds
- Listen: http://manufacturinghappyhour.com

## Summary

Terrence Southern, Founder and CEO of Illuminate STEM, discusses his journey from a Detroit native to a robotics expert and his mission to sustain talent through K-12 education. He explains how his nonprofit program, led by industry professionals, teaches students robotics and automation, resulting in alumni who are now engineers at major companies. Southern also shares his predictions for the future of the industry, highlighting the rise of cobots and AI-driven automation accelerated by the pandemic.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-08-16-how-terrence-southerns-k-12-stem-program-is-sustaining-talent-elevating-minds#t=0) Introduction: Terrence Southern and Illuminate STEM
- [3:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-08-16-how-terrence-southerns-k-12-stem-program-is-sustaining-talent-elevating-minds#t=183) Terrence's Detroit Roots and Early Life
- [6:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-08-16-how-terrence-southerns-k-12-stem-program-is-sustaining-talent-elevating-minds#t=378) Discovering Robotics at General Motors
- [10:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-08-16-how-terrence-southerns-k-12-stem-program-is-sustaining-talent-elevating-minds#t=645) Founding Illuminate STEM as a Nonprofit
- [19:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-08-16-how-terrence-southerns-k-12-stem-program-is-sustaining-talent-elevating-minds#t=1145) Success Stories: Students Becoming Engineers
- [22:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-08-16-how-terrence-southerns-k-12-stem-program-is-sustaining-talent-elevating-minds#t=1341) The Awareness Gap in Robotics Education
- [26:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-08-16-how-terrence-southerns-k-12-stem-program-is-sustaining-talent-elevating-minds#t=1575) Evolution of Safety and Automation Technologies
- [31:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-08-16-how-terrence-southerns-k-12-stem-program-is-sustaining-talent-elevating-minds#t=1893) Future Predictions: Cobots, AI, and Pandemic Impact

## Topics

- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Illuminate STEM (company)
- General Motors (company)
- US First Robotics (other)
- ATW (company)
- FritoLay (company)
- GE (company)
- Cobots (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [The Power of STEM: Shaping the Next Generation](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2025-11-07-the-power-of-stem-shaping-the-next-generation) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [Re-skilling coal miners; Jibo returns; Perseverance Rover heads for Mars](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-07-29-re-skilling-coal-miners-jibo-returns-perseverance-rover-heads-for-mars) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [Jeff Burnstein on robot sales growth; Softbank’s evolving robotics play](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-01-28-jeff-burnstein-on-robot-sales-growth-softbanks-evolving-robotics-play) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [State of hiring in the robotics market with Jeff Chapman](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2021-08-03-state-of-hiring-in-the-robotics-market-with-jeff-chapman) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [Trends in Supply Chain Robotics with John Santagate](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2025-07-11-trends-in-supply-chain-robotics-with-john-santagate) (The Robot Report Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2022-08-16-how-terrence-southerns-k-12-stem-program-is-sustaining-talent-elevating-minds. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Manufacturing Happy Hour.