IEEE STEM Summit

IEEE TryEngineering Series:

Spotlight on Building Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Next Generation of Engineers

IEEE’s TryEngineering.org, a program that began in 2006, has expanded considerably to inclusively meet the needs of all budding engineers and technologists. There are a number of programs that fall under the TryEngineering.org umbrella, including the: 

All of these programs target providing information and resources to a diverse and inclusive audience in an effort to build equity within the global engineering community. 

IEEE recognizes the importance of helping educators and education leaders improve the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) skills of all students to ensure every student can thrive in a modern, information-driven, high-tech society, able to pursue the STEM and STEM-related professions of their choosing. Students’ interest in STEM careers can be ignited through exposure to new technologies and how those technologies operate and interact. Through its pre-university educational activities, IEEE is committed to increasing awareness of and interest in engineering, computer science, and technology by helping students identify the engineer, scientist, or technologist hidden inside of them, with a strong emphasis on the inclusion of the full breadth of the student community and the diverse perspectives they bring to STEM.

Through IEEE’s STEM Summits, IEEE brings together engaged communities of pre-university STEM enthusiasts, educators, parents, and volunteers who can share ideas and experiences and develop engaging, innovative, and high-quality pre-university STEM education. The first IEEE STEM Summit was organized in November 2021. It was held in a virtual format to more readily enable educators and volunteers to learn about and interact with STEM opportunities, resources, and activities. Participants had the opportunity to ask questions of award-winning educators and knowledgeable volunteers as these educational leaders shared their experiences and offered practical advice on how to plan interesting and effective outreach activities in STEM education.

In December 2022, the second IEEE STEM Summit brought together over 600 educators and volunteers to learn more about STEM education. This free event took place over 5 days and was offered at no cost in 80 countries. The 2022 IEEE STEM Summit featured several sessions that focused on more effectively including all students in STEM education, contributing to the diversity, equity, and inclusivity of STEM fields of interest, including engineering, for future generations.

Sample sessions from the 2022 IEEE STEM Summit included:

Pedagogy to Practice with Your Neurodiverse STEM Students

Neurodiverse students represent a critical population in the future of STEM. This session discusses the strengths neurodiverse students bring to STEM fields and the strategies educators need to educate neurodiverse students in STEM education. Ensuring bright futures for neurodiverse STEM students aligns with United Nations Sustainability Goals that foster global support for the expansion of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

 

Tackling Stereotypes and Reaching the Hard-to-Reach through Research-Informed STEM Outreach and Widening Participation:
Lessons from the NUSTEM team in the UK

Addressing gender imbalances and lack of diversity in many technical disciplines (e.g., digital, engineering, physical sciences, etc.), this session discusses a long-term, holistic, research-informed approach to tackling these complex issues while providing an inclusive approach to STEM outreach and finding ways to reach hard-to-reach communities and evaluating the impact of STEM outreach interventions (including unintended consequences).

 

Capturing the Diverse Interests of Students Through the Diverse World of Computer Science

Just as computer science impacts a diverse landscape of applications (including communication technology and interactions through the internet, apps on our phones, general infrastructure, and manufacturing), pre-university students' diverse perspectives and skillsets are a great asset to the computer science discipline, as the varied experiences and perspectives they bring with them benefit the field in myriad ways. This session discusses how computer science programs must work to share and promote this diversity to engage larger populations of students possessing their own unique passions and interests.

 

Access free resources at TryEngineering.org

In addition to the IEEE STEM Summits, educators and volunteers engaged in STEM outreach in their schools and communities have access to a wealth of free resources at TryEngineering.org. Resources include lesson plans, interviews with engineers, and sample programs. In 2022, more than 600,000 users visited the TryEngineering website from more than 50 countries nearly 1,000,000 times. As educators and educational leaders work to build diverse, equitable, and inclusive future generations of engineers and STEM leaders, the resources of TryEngineering.org can play a crucial role in the success of those endeavors.