The Greenville Drive, BMW, Hubbell Lighting, and Greenville Technical College will host Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Night at Fluor Field on Wednesday, July 31. The goal of the event is to bring awareness to students, parents, and guidance counselors across the Upstate about the unique work experience and exciting career opportunities that are available in the rapidly changing world of advanced manufacturing and engineering.

This is the fourth year of the event, and organizers have scaled up efforts to bring awareness to the growing skills gap challenge in the Upstate. This year’s event will feature a panel discussion with CEOs from BMW Manufacturing, Hubbell Lighting, GE, and Greenville Technical College discussing the state of manufacturing and the opportunities available. These leaders have also come together in a video that appeals to parents, influencers, and decision makers, with the message that manufacturing is an attractive and viable career option.

Lots of manufacturing and engineering exhibits and special activities in the ballpark will tell the story, with the evening’s programming and entertainment designed to open the eyes of the young people in attendance who represent our workforce of the future. To encourage students to enjoy this important learning experience, the Drive is providing tickets and special “Ignite the Passion” T-shirts to all K-12 students at no cost.

Students will be able to visit more than 10 highly engaging exhibits from our region’s largest companies demonstrating the creative application of technology to the manufacturing process. Exhibits will include tic tac toe vs a robot, a 3D scan of the Boston Red Sox World Series ring, and more. As students tour the exhibits, they will be enrolled in the “Young Innovators Club” where they will have the opportunity to win great prizes including drones, driving experiences at the BMW Performance Center, an iDevices package from Hubbell Lighting, and more. Adults are also encouraged to attend with tickets for the event and a great evening of Drive baseball starting at just $8.

All fans are encouraged to participate in pre-game activities, tour exhibits, and network with educators and industry leaders. Pre-game activities and concourse exhibits begin at 6 pm, and the first pitch is at 7:05 pm.