Career Pathways to highlight Smartforce Student Summit at IMTS 2026
The Smartforce Student Summit will return to IMTS, Sept. 14-19, at McCormick Place in Chicago. This will mark the summit's 14th edition since its launch in 1998. The 2026 summit will once again bring together thousands of students, educators, and industry professionals to explore the technologies, careers, and opportunities driving the future of manufacturing.
The Smartforce Student Summit has become a cornerstone of IMTS since its inception. It was designed to spark interest among students and educators from all levels of education in careers across manufacturing technology sectors. The 2026 summit will return to Hall C of the North Building, placing it at the heart of the IMTS experience and expanding access for students and educators to experience the full scale of the show.
The Student Summit looks and feels like a trade show designed for the next generation that allows students to learn and experience by getting their hands on featured technologies. In 2024, nearly 15,000 students, faculty, and staff from K-12 and postsecondary educational institutions in 49 states attended, with approximately one-third of attendees coming from universities and community or technical colleges.
"The summit is a game changer for our industry's talent pipeline," says Douglas K. Woods, president of AMT -- The Association For Manufacturing Technology. "IMTS gives educators direct exposure to the technologies driving today's production floors, inspiring them to elevate their equipment, curricula, and training programs. The result is a new generation of candidates who arrive with stronger skills and a clearer understanding of industry needs."
For 2026, the Smartforce Student Summit will introduce Smartforce Career Pathways, a digital installation designed to help IMTS exhibitors promote entry-level career opportunities directly to the thousands of students attending the summit. Through interactive job boards and digital listings, students will be able to explore early-career positions offered by participating IMTS exhibitors.
The 2026 summit will feature dozens of interactive exhibits showcasing hands-on demonstrations of robotics, automation, additive manufacturing, CNC machining, precision measurement and metrology, and digital manufacturing technologies that appeal to students of all ages -- from elementary to university level.
The Smartforce Student Summit at IMTS 2026 is free for students, educators, school administrators, and parent chaperones. Registration opens in February 2026.
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