Encouraging STEM careers for a better future
Madrid / 8 October 2020
Over recent years the number of students choosing a STEM career (science, technology, engineering, or math) has decreased, despite the fact that employment prospects are higher than in other fields. According to the OECD’s study ‘Education at a Glance 2019’, less than 15% of new bachelor degree students choose to study engineering, manufacturing and construction and less than 5% study information and communication technologies.
‘Bringing Diversity in STEAM’ is a mentoring program in which Siemens Gamesa´s female employees talk to students from primary and secondary schools about what it is like to study and work in the area of STEM. Robotics with First Lego League is a two-year program on coding and robotics for students aged 7 to 16+ with FIRST Lego League. #TeachingFuture is an an initiative launched during COVID19 to help students aged 6 to 18+ build up STEM knowledge while learning about renewable energy, wind power and digitalization thanks to videos recorded by employees.
The latest initiative to motivate young people to choose STEM is #HackSTEM, a hackathon where university students are invited to design a videogame for young people to build skills and knowledge in these fields. A hackathon, a combination of the words ‘hack’ and ‘marathon’, is a design sprint-like event, usually involving software development in a collaborative way. In this case, the #HackSTEM challenge is aimed at developing a video game project where the players advance in their mission for a more sustainable world, using their knowledge in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.
The event will take place online on October 17 and 18, 2020 and is open to all university students.
But #HackSTEM is not just a hackathon. It is also an opportunity to discuss the state of education, and the reasons why fewer students opt for a career in science or technology.
The lack of orientation on STEM career opportunities and a deep-rooted perception that they are very difficult are undermining students' motivation, concludes a recent report from Spanish association for digitalization DigitalES.
In order to discuss this new reality, Siemens Gamesa has also organized virtual round tables on October 15and 16that deal with education and the reasons why fewer students choose a scientific career. The role of digital tools in education and sustainability will also be discussed.
More information about #HackSTEM here
