Axalta-sponsored initiatives foster education with a special focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We are particularly proud of our support for schools and initiatives around the world that promote STEM and STEM-related career paths, including those at our own company. We believe that education in the sciences is critical, especially given the technologies that drive our innovation and manufacturing platforms. 

Axalta All-Pro Teachers

Started in 2015, in partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles football organization, Axalta sponsors the All-Pro Teachers program. This annual initiative honors 6th through 12th grade teachers of STEM subjects for outstanding dedication to their students, school, and community. Nominations are accepted May through October for teachers in the greater Philadelphia region. To learn more about this important program or to nominate a STEM educator in the Philadelphia area, click here.

Collegiate Racing

Axalta’s collegiate racing program originated in the United States and continues to expand to other parts of the globe. Select Formula SAE racing teams, consisting of engineering students, receive financial support for building their own race cars for collegiate circuit competitive racing in the United States. Student teams in Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Europe are supported for their designs of Formula SAE and solar-powered cars. Additionally, Axalta employees serve as coaches, judges, and mentors for student drivers and their racing teams.

Recognizing Design

In Detroit, Michigan, we established the EyesOn Design awards, which take place annually during the Detroit International Auto Show. EyesOn Design is an automotive industry fundraising initiative to support visual research at Henry Ford Health System’s Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology. Each year, Axalta recognizes STEM with the Axalta Innovative Use of Color, Graphics and Materials award given to automotive designers who exhibit their concepts at the Auto Show.

Axalta also partners with DRIVE One, an automotive industry training center in Detroit, that in 2018 installed an Axalta-branded paint booth where students receive hands-on training on automotive coatings. Our projects with DRIVE One expose students to automotive design, modeling, color selection, and engineering concepts.

Around the World 

In India, the Akshaya Patra Foundation fights hunger and malnutrition and develops educational programs for more than 1.4 million children from 10,845 schools across 10 states in India. It is the largest nonprofit midday meal program in the world, and Axalta’s support helps provide freshly cooked meals to more than 550 children in schools neighboring our facilities in Savli, Gujarat State.

Pardada Pardadi Education Society (PPES) has been improving the lives of women in rural India through its mission of empowering women to minimize poverty in the region. Axalta supports PPES near our operations center in Savli, Gujarat State through its programming that provides free education to girls and job opportunities for women.

In alignment with China’s Sustainable Education Program, we continue to host Campus Talks, our annual program for universities in China to create awareness and educate local academic communities on STEM and industry trends related to coatings.

The SWE (Society for Women Engineers), the Serviam Girls School in Delaware, and the Girls STEM and Leadership Camp near Philadelphia, PA are just a few of the programs that Axalta has supported to continue the development and advancement of young girls and strong female leaders while enriching the student experience outside the classroom through STEM-related initiatives.

The Franklin Institute, one of the preeminent centers for science education in the United States, has been a partner to Axalta for many years through our participation in its annual Philadelphia Science Festival at which we showcase the science of color.

Axalta also provides financial support for new and replacement equipment at the Science Leadership Academy, which offers high school students an enriched exposure to STEM disciplines in preparation for college and careers.

In collaboration with the Philadelphia Eagles, Axalta enhances mobility for children with disabilities by helping to build motorized ride-in cars through GoBabyGo!, a global organization that uses the building process as a participant team building exercise that benefits children in need.

For more information on our STEM education initiatives, please refer to our Sustainability Report 2016-2017.