Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM), are vital disciplines to our future, the future of our country, the
future of our region and the future of our children.
Stop and consider how often we experience STEM in
our daily lives? Example of STEM include
everything from the natural world, to our smartphones, to healthcare, to
agriculture, to cleaning supplies you buy at the grocery store and the roads,
bridges other transportation services you may have used to get to that grocery
store in the first place. STEM is important, not only because it pervades every
aspect of our lives, but because it is the key to a better tomorrow.
Humanity has noble and long-standing tradition of
innovation, entrepreneurship and exploration that has allowed us to do
everything from go to the moon, to instantly send information around the world,
and even to save and extend lives.
Sustainability has a very storied past but seems to
have reached a pinnacle moment of late. Recent key players around the world are
asking more from humanity now than ever before to come together to handle local
and global issues that STEM will play the principal role in solving.
Let’s consider how STEM effects what is closest and dearest to us—our children. For the next
generation to succeed STEM innovation will be absolutely vital for continued
sustainable development across the globe. For 2014, the US News and World
Report listed the ten best jobs. All ten of them were in STEM fields: software
developer, computer systems analyst, dentist, nurse practitioner, pharmacist,
registered nurse, physical therapist, physician, web developer, dental
hygienist[1].
According to the U. S. Department of Education, STEM jobs
are growing at 1.7 times the rate of
non-STEM jobs, and the U.S. is simply not producing enough candidates to
fill them. Only 16% of high school seniors are interested in pursuing STEM
careers.[2]
Not only is STEM important to having our children gainfully employed, but also
offers a sustainable innovation pathway for the world.
Rob Denson, Chair, STEM Higher Education
Council, President, Des Moines Area Community College and Edie Fraser, Chief
Executive Officer, STEMConnector® state, as part of the forward
to their new book Advancing a Jobs-Driven
Economy that, “Aligning, corporate, education, and community partners
requires that we rethink and redesign the system that supports STEM education
and workforce preparedness. The sustainability of our schools, the innovative
engines of our businesses, the prosperity of communities, and the global
competitiveness of our economies are at stake.”[3]
The
connection between sustainability and STEM is hardly just an American need.
While the Obama administration and congress seem aligned on the greater need
for STEM nationally, the international community is been making significant
steps to advance a global STEM driven economy. Pope Francis on July 21st
2015, hosted some 65 mayors from across the world at the Vatican-sponsored
conference on Climate Change. The
two-day conference, titled "Modern Slavery and Climate Change: The
Commitment of the Cities" and "Prosperity,
People and Planet: Achieving Sustainable Development in Our Cities,"
is the latest in a series of public efforts on the part of the Vatican to
influence the debate on climate change and other global issues. Like many
global issues of today, it will take skilled Scientists, Mathematicians,
Engineers and Technologists to come up with plans to help alleviate growing problems
like climate change, pollution, waste, water usage, and much much more.
The Pope’s efforts come at
a time when the international community at the United Nations will vote
September 2015 on sustainable development goals, and member nations will submit
plans to combat climate change this winter in Paris. The United Nations in a
2013 meeting that acted as a precursor to the September Sustainable Development Goals noted that while innovation and
R&D are essential elements to the goals, that in particular that areas of
science, technology, engineering and mathematics: the so called STEM subjects
will be “the key to ensuring sustainable progress: no effective research would
be possible without a steady supply of trained, competent researchers” trained
in STEM disciplines.[4]
For the Delaware Valley region, investing in the future of
science, technology, engineering and mathematics makes sense for local large
firms like InterDigital, Dow, Ashland, Christiana Care Health System,
AstraZeneca, DuPont, AirLiquide and Incyte, as well as several international
engineering firms, and a growing large life sciences and agriculture industry.
The Delaware Valley region’s challenge in recruiting sufficient numbers of STEM
professionals is daunting, in the face of competing with known areas like the
Silicon Valley or the Research Triangle. Local firms are finding it difficult
to recruit the STEM professionals they need to continue to be successful in
today’s ever-changing business environment.
According
to Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce, Delaware ranks only
behind Massachusetts for the best state
to get a job as a STEM grad.[5] And the
region will need thousands of additional people completing post-secondary
degrees by every year. From community colleges like Delaware Technical, to
state institutions like Delaware State University and the University of
Delaware, and private colleges like Wesley, and Wilmington University and
others, the region has the capacity to produce more trained individuals.
Introducing our current and future students to STEM opportunities and getting
them engaged and excited about seeking advanced schooling in these areas is
essential to meet these demands.
If the United States is to remain a center for
research, innovation, entrepreneurship and prominence, then we must motivate
all citizens into STEM fields. Because STEM is so important for our children,
our region and our country, we need to encourage current and future generations
of students, to understand and embrace the technology that affects them every
day of their lives. Students should be advised on the merits of taking as many
math and science courses in elementary and middle as much as possible but also
meet with STEM professional mentors like the Its My Future Program that Junior Achievement of Delaware
administers[6],
to make science and math courses fun and interesting such that their passions
will grow into an exciting and rewarding STEM career.
-------------------------
Daniel Suchenski is the Executive Director for the
Governor’s STEM Council for the state of Delaware. He is also the Principal at KCX Consulting dedicated to Management and Sustainability issues.
[2]
http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/25/smallbusiness/stem-facts/
[3] STEMConnector Team
(2015). Advancing a Jobs-Driven Economy. New
York, NY. Morgan James Publishing. Page XXII
[4]
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/4628cern.pdf
[5]
http://delawarestem.org/event/new-georgetown-university-report-finds-massachusetts-delaware-and-washington-have-most-job
[6]
http://delawarestem.org/news/junior-achievement-partners-stem-council-dow-chemical
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