STEM Coding & Robotics Program

Phillips 66 donated $30,000 to the Southwest Louisiana Alliance Foundation to be used for a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) program that began in two Calcasieu Parish vocational schools this year.  Each school received 15 robots and additional sensors for each robot to expand its functions.  

 “We hope it will pique their interest in the wide range of career opportunities in our local refineries, manufacturing facilities and supportive service providers.  This educational initiative is one way we can align our key company values to improve lives where we live and work,” said Richard G. Harbison, Phillips 66 Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex Plant Manager.

Coding and robotics are basic workforce skills needed to attract and sustain information technology businesses to our region.  By having this program in the K-12 school system, our organizations are preparing our next generation of workers with foundational skills that will make them employable in careers with jobs that have yet to be developed.  

Representatives from Phillips 66 and the SWLA Economic Development Alliance visited with the teachers and students recently to see the program in action.