Bengaluru. The GE Aerospace Foundation on February 3 announced the expansion of its Next Engineers college readiness program to Bengaluru, India, to advance the program’s goal of encouraging young people to pursue careers in engineering.
The expansion of Next Engineers will help build a strong engineering pipeline in India. With today’s announcement, the GE Aerospace Foundation, alongside leadership and volunteers at the Bengaluru facility, will now move forward with identifying an academic partner to be announced in late 2025.
“GE Aerospace in India has supported new technologies for the industry collaborating with academia for more than 25 years,” said Alok Nanda, Chief Technology Officer at GE Aerospace’s India Technology Centre. “The expansion of the Next Engineers program locally allows increased engagement for students interested in engineering careers.”
Bengaluru was selected using a range of criteria, including GE Aerospace’s employee footprint, the strength of GE Aerospace’s manufacturing and engineering presence, and anticipated engagement in the program. GE Aerospace in India supports the entire lifecycle of the company’s engines and products. It has a strong history of volunteering in the local community, including STEM education.
“We are immensely proud to announce our Next Engineers program in Bengaluru,” said GE Aerospace Foundation President Meghan Thurlow. “Nearly 22,000 students around the world have experienced the power and possibility of engineering through our program and the GE Aerospace volunteers that support it. We look forward to reaching even more students with this program expanding to India.”
In 2024, the GE Aerospace Foundation committed $20 million through 2030 to expand Next Engineers. This commitment will help bridge the gap for students in middle school to college who are interested in engineering careers. The Next Engineers program currently serves students in Cincinnati, Ohio, Greenville, South Carolina in the United States, Johannesburg(South Africa), Staffordshire (United Kingdom), and Warsaw(Poland), reflecting the global reach and impact that GE Aerospace has in communities around the world.
The GE Aerospace Foundation, an independent charitable organisation funded by GE Aerospace, complements the company’s purpose to “lift people up” in communities where employees live and work around the world. The Foundation’s philanthropic strategy and programs focus on engineering education, workforce development, and disaster relief. When GE Aerospace was launched as an independent company in 2024, the GE Foundation was relaunched as the GE Aerospace Foundation, commencing a new chapter that builds on the successful, 100+ year legacy of the previous GE Foundation.
