Boeing and Technovation reunite with $250K investment bringing engineers and 25,000 girls together for project-based AI learning worldwide
Twelve years ago, Boeing helped us prove something: the best professional development doesn’t happen in a training room. It happens when experienced engineers guide young people through real challenges.
Together, we created 22 hands-on engineering design challenges exploring science, technology, and engineering topics through fun activities that promote creativity and problem-solving. Inspired by Boeing innovations, these challenges involve building safe stopping robots, robotic arms, long-span wings, and more, and they continue to be used by learners around the world today.
Research published through ASEE confirmed what we witnessed: mentoring wasn’t just good for students, but also beneficial for employees. In that unique program, junior Boeing engineers collaborated with senior technical fellows in ways that rarely happen organically. Technical experts strengthened communication skills by translating complex aerospace concepts for families who’d never met an engineer.
Now, as AI reshapes technology, Boeing is back with a $250,000 investment, and both organizations are ready to scale what works.
Why Project-Based Mentorship Outperforms Traditional Training
Technovation’s curriculum succeeds because girls learn AI by building apps that solve real problems in their communities. Our mentorship model succeeds for the same reason: the project isn’t an app, it’s the team itself.
When Boeing employees mentor student teams, they are guiding young women through debugging code that won’t cooperate, pivoting when user research reveals new needs, pitching ideas to skeptical audiences, and persevering when solutions feel impossible.
Mentors learn without realizing it. The 15-year-old struggling with machine learning teaches you to explain complexity simply. The team pivoting their entire concept overnight reminds you that flexibility beats rigidity. The girl presenting to judges despite her nerves shows you what fearlessness actually looks like.
Project-based learning works both ways. Mentors gain leadership agility. Girls gain technical confidence.
“The best mentorship is reciprocal by design: young people’s fearlessness with new technology challenges mentors to embrace the unknown, while mentors model the persistence that turns failure into progress. This intergenerational learning loop produces skills no training room can replicate: courage, resilience, and creative problem-solving under real-world pressure”
— Tara Chklovski, CEO, Technovation
What Boeing’s Commitment Delivers
Mini-Grants: Local Technovation chapters receive funding to recruit mentors, host workshops, and provide resources directly to student teams building AI-powered solutions.
Event Hosting: Boeing will support regional events bringing together students, mentors, alumnae, and industry professionals, creating pathways from education to employment.
An Incredible Force of Mentorship Talent: Thousands of Boeing teammates worldwide bring aerospace, software, and systems expertise. Boeing has been leveraging AI since 2023, testing, developing and rolling out ways to work smarter, safer and faster. More importantly, Boeing employees bring curiosity about what young innovators will teach them.
“Mentoring is a shared journey and is key to pioneering AI advancement. By learning from young talent, Boeing employees enhance their leadership skills while fueling the growth of future innovators. This partnership ensures Boeing’s leadership in aerospace through a balance of experience and fresh insights.”
—Abhi Seth, Chief Enterprise AI & Data Officer, Boeing
Upskilling Two Generations at Once
AI is moving faster than traditional education can keep pace. This partnership addresses two urgent needs: girls need role models and technical guidance to see themselves as technology leaders, while industry needs professionals who can explain, adapt, and lead in an AI-transformed workplace.
The results: 85% of Technovation alumnae pursue STEM degrees and tech careers. 400,000+ participants across 120+ countries. Alumnae have built apps for Alzheimer’s care, women’s safety, climate action, and mental health support. Mentors consistently report improved leadership and communication skills.
Boeing understands that investing in the next generation means investing in your current one, too.