Black Engineer of the Year Award is coming back to Baltimore

A conference that gathers more than 10,000 black engineering professionals and students is returning to Baltimore after departing in 2010.

The Black Engineer of the Year Award STEM Global Competitiveness Conference will return in 2024 and 2025, according to Visit Baltimore.

Along with being a win for the city, the planned return to the Baltimore Convention Center marks a homecoming for the event, which is produced by Baltimore-based Career Communications Group (CCG).

“As an organization headquartered in Baltimore, we couldn’t be more excited to bring the conference back home,” Tyrone D. Taborn, chief content officer and CEO at CCG, said in a statement. “Baltimore is a city known for its African American heritage and top-tier institutions that mold the minds of black students studying science, technology, engineering and math.”

At the time the conference relocated, the Baltimore Business Journal reported that Taborn cited the prime reason as proximity to D.C. at a time when President Barack Obama was emphasizing STEM, as well as lagging support from Baltimore.

The announcement came as the current conference is taking place in D.C., where the organizers decided to move it almost 10 years ago. The three-day event features an awards ceremony recognizing achievement in STEM fields, and offers programming for students exploring careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The Council of Engineering Deans of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Lockheed Martin serve as hosts.

“Local middle school, high school and college students will have the unique opportunity to be exposed to careers in STEM through conference programming and a free career fair,” Mayor Catherine Pugh said in the announcement. “We hope this helps inspire the next generation of STEM professionals in Baltimore.”