The CHALLENGE
A recent report by the World Economic Forum stated the jobs of tomorrow will rely heavily on a good grasp of STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Education, and Math).
Now more than ever, it is crucial that we make STEM learning accessible so that youth everywhere have the opportunity to thrive and meet the demands of the 21st century.
Unfortunately, we know that not everybody has the opportunity to meaningfully explore STEM and develop these critical competencies. At STEM Minds, we believe that in order to empower the next generation of global leaders and innovators, dismantling the barriers that stand in the way of STEM education is crucial.
The SOLUTION
In 2021, we partnered with Youth Culture Inc. to offer free STEM learning resources to high school students across Ontario. The purpose of Youth Culture Inc’s Future Workforce Skills Development Program is to provide equal opportunity for young people across Ontario to learn in-demand skills and highlight careers that align with the evolving economy. We set out together to provide an accessible and meaningful way to introduce STEM competencies that are high in demand, to inspire high school students to prepare for the bright future ahead of them.
Our program provided resources at two levels: (1) to individual students, and (2) to high school classrooms.
From June 2021 to March 2022, STEM Minds offered a range of online, self-directed courses through our online learning platform, STEAM Hub. Over 200 high school students registered to receive access to a variety of courses, including:
- 9Media & Entertainment: Video Game
- 9Development
- 9Software Engineering: App Development
- 9Web Development: HTML & CSS
- 9Intro to Cryptography
- 9Intro to Blockchain
- 9Intro to Machine Learning
The SOLUTION
CONTINUED
At the start of 2022, we also began offering access to STEAM Hub for classrooms. We provided Ontario high school teachers full classroom access to one STEAM Hub course of their choosing. The goal of this approach was to support teachers in our community in delivering powerful learning experiences to their students. They received access from the time of registration until the end of the school year. We had 15 classrooms enrolled in the program and were able to reach 525 high school students in Ontario. Some of the courses offered to classrooms included:
- 9Cybersecurity & Cryptography
- 9Big Data
- 9App Development
- 9Coding with Java
- 9Coding with C++
- 9Coding with Python
- 9Intro to Artificial Intelligence
- 9Intro to Machine Learning
- 9Web Development
The OUTCOME
We are very proud and grateful to have worked with Youth Culture Inc. to further our mutual goal of ensuring equal opportunity for youth to learn in- demand skills and grow into future-ready leaders. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have had the ability to connect with teachers and students across the province and look forward to continuing to support them along their learning journeys.
To further support teachers in engaging students in STEM, we provided four free live-streamed workshops to classes across Ontario from January to March of 2022. These workshops introduced students in Grades 9-12 to a variety of STEM topics, including Coding with Python, Artificial Intelligence, Coding with Processing, and Cybersecurity & Cryptography. Our workshops were attended by over 650 students across the province.
