OREANDA-NEWS. November 16, 2012. Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the Entertainment Industries Council have recognized 15 movies and television programs for portraying science, engineering and technology in a way that inspires students to pursue studies and careers in these areas.

Some of the feature films and TV programs honored at the second annual S.E.T. awards in Los Angeles yesterday included, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Big Bang Theory and NCIS.

Boeing Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Administration Rick Stephens participated in the awards event and said, “Entertainment media has enormous power to influence attitudes. Partnering with the entertainment industry is one way to rekindle interest and excitement among students to study science, technology, engineering and math.”

The broader Boeing and Entertainment Industries Council project is designed to stimulate excitement and elevate the importance of science, technology, engineering and math among students by promoting more positive and accurate views of technical careers. Currently about ten percent of characters are scientists or engineers and of those, 70 percent are negatively portrayed. Changing negative depictions about high-tech careers is one way to engage and develop the next generation scientists and engineers.

Boeing’s involvement with Entertainment Industries Council is part of the company’s efforts to prepare the future workforce for tomorrow’s jobs and careers. In 2011, Boeing invested about USD 35 million towards programs that positively impacted all areas of education.