Community Mission
The College Outreach Community leads collaborative efforts between SAME and academia to identify and resolve national security infrastructure-related challenges and supports Post’s efforts to mentor and develop future STEM professionals at the collegiate-level. The community serves as a bridge between academia, Posts, government (military and civilian), and the private sector. The community provides guidance to the network of student chapters across the Society, promotes internship opportunities from SAME sustaining members, and will establish a new engineering competition for students designed to address the nation’s grand challenges.
Overview
The SAME College Outreach Community strives to organize programs and present opportunities to future military and civilian members of the A/E/C profession that will foster networking within their professional community, build leadership skills, and provide job opportunities to recent graduates. Additionally, students with an active membership within SAME have at their disposal a wealth of knowledge and experiences from professionals throughout the A/E/C community of practice.
Executive Community Structure
Vice Chairs
Danielle Hughes, Communications
Jeffrey Allen, Academia Engagement
Staff Liaison
Sarah Feighery, Program Manager
2026 SAME Undergraduate Innovation Design Challenge
Submissions for the 2025-26 SAME Undergraduate Innovation Design Challenge are due by February 6, 2026. This competition, led by the College Outreach COI, evaluates design projects that are being developed by student members as part of their degree curriculums and highlights the innovative thinking of the next generation of STEM professionals.
Learn more about the Innovation Design ChallengeUpcoming National Webinars
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- Webinar
Brave New World: Bid Protests in 2026 and Beyond
Any industry insider can tell you that bid protests have become – for good or for ill – an inevitable feature of many procurements. For that reason, successful contractors know how to both successfully assert a protest challenging a competitor’s improper award, and successfully defend against baseless protests brought by their own disgruntled competitors. -
- Webinar
Progressive Design Build: A New Delivery Method Now Available
Progressive Design Build – New NDAA language. This webinar will help explain the fundamental shift in federal construction delivery and clarify the meaning and application of qualifications-based selection processes for construction. Our expert presenters will address what this model means to acquisition teams and how industry evaluates and responds to these opportunities.
Related TME Articles – College Outreach
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Protecting Coastal Installations with Natural Infrastructure
Through a simulation of Tyndall AFB and an assessment of existing policy, a research team from the Air Force Institute of Technology studied the effects of natural infrastructure as a hedge against sea level rise and extreme weather. -
Lessons Learned from the Kings Bay Dry Dock Renovation
Facing a constrained timeline to execute a complete overhaul of the dry dock at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, a newly stood up Resident Officer in Charge of Construction leveraged early partnering, strategic staff alignment, robust stakeholder governance, and the creation of an internal continuity cell to deliver the project successfully in fall 2022. -
Establishing Partnership at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station
In designing a new fueling solution for Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station that would be capable of meeting its modern mission needs, laying a foundation of transparency, accountability, and communicated expectations early on was key to meeting project goals. -
Navigating Cost Volatility
In reaction to significant market disruptions since 2020, the construction industry has adapted by leveraging shared risk contract methods and more responsive data sources, and by implementing more secure technology platforms.
