Stanley Black & Decker is a Founding Partner of the Inaugural National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo

HARTFORD, Conn., May 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Stanley Black & Decker is excited to announce their partnership with The STEMIE Coalition, who will host their inaugural National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE) at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Alexandria, Virginia from May 19-21, 2016.  This will be the first national competition for students to display their problem solving and critical thinking skills through products that they have invented or companies that they have launched.

The inaugural NICEE event will host 265 K-12 students from around the country, demonstrating and discussing the business case for their inventions. Products and ideas range from a Braille keyboard that clips onto an iPad so people with sight disabilities can type, to a sports training system built to enhance the ball placement abilities of athletes in any sport, to a device that senses a dog's stress level and sends appropriate scents and music to help soothe it, and much more. The young inventors will compete for honors based on their innovative approaches to solving a problem through invention and prospects for creating viable enterprises in the market.

Stanley Black & Decker has been a partner with the Connecticut Invention Convention (CIC) for more than 10 years. Over the past 33 years, CIC has impacted nearly 300,000 students in 250 schools to launch this program on a national stage. Two years ago, Stanley Black & Decker and CIC recognized the need for a national competition celebrating innovation and entrepreneurship, and worked with other founding partners to create NICEE. Stanley Black & Decker, as a company that has a 173-year legacy of continuous innovation, recognizes the benefit that CIC and NICEE will have on not only the company's future, but the future of surrounding communities as well.

A national forum that promotes and rewards inventiveness is a key element to the innovation pipeline, and Stanley Black & Decker sees NICEE as a vital national version of statewide competitions. "We look forward to the anticipated growth of the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo in partnership with our facilities and employees across the country," said Timothy Perra, Vice President of Communications at Stanley Black & Decker. "This expansion will help to increase the dedication to STEM education nationally, fostering our youth and preparing for the next generation workforce."

"Educators, employers and policymakers agree the U.S. must grow innovative thinkers and problem solvers in order to create a sustainable society," said STEMIE Coalition CEO Danny Briere.  "To make this dream a reality, America needs a national K-12 competition in youth invention and entrepreneurship to drive more programs into schools, and to excite and inspire students to invent new solutions to the world's problems."

About The NICEE

The National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo (NICEE) is a first-of-its-kind country-wide event to bring together and shine a spotlight on the creations of young inventors, forward thinkers and problem solvers from member local programs throughout the U.S. The inaugural event will be held May 19-21 at the United States Patent Trade Office (USPTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

Created by the STEMIE Coalition, The NICEE employs novel judging techniques and peer review in its breadth-and-depth competition to ensure it serves as an intellectually enriching event for all. It's a launch pad from which student participants can advance their keen interest toward becoming tomorrow's innovators and world changers. For more information, visit www.stemie.org.

About The STEMIE Coalition

The STEMIE Coalition is a non-profit, umbrella membership organization of youth invention and entrepreneurship programs across the U.S. It provides much-needed national attention for and drives interest in K-12 invention and entrepreneurship, while empowering local organizations with best practices and resources. The coalition is partnering programs with in-school curriculum and competitions to drive innovation and problem-solving skills into our next generation workforce.  The STEMIE Coalition is the first such group created to elevate invention and entrepreneurship education of K-12 students across the country. For more information, visit www.stemie.org.

About Stanley Black & Decker

Stanley Black & Decker, an S&P 500 and FORTUNE 500 company, is the world's leading provider of tools and storage, the world's second-largest commercial electronic security company, and a leading engineered fastening systems provider, with unique growth platforms in the Oil & Gas and Infrastructure industries. Well-known brands include: STANLEY, BLACK+DECKER, DEWALT, Porter-Cable, Bostitch, Facom, Mac Tools, Proto, Vidmar, Lista, and more. Learn more at www.stanleyblackanddecker.com.

For further information and media, contact:

Stanley Black & Decker                                       
Tim Perra                                                                             
(860) 826-3260                                                                   

[email protected]     

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