STEM Learning Ecosystems is proud to announce its selection as presenters at SXSW EDU 2018. The panel discussion, Not “Random Acts of STEM”: Planned Career Success, will be part of the Employability track. The discussion will feature Gerald Solomon, Co-Founder of STEM Learning Ecosystems; Gregory Washington, Dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine; and Parminder Jassal, Institute for the Future.
These leaders from the STEM Learning Ecosystems Initiative will discuss how partners from diverse backgrounds and practices are working together to establish rigorous, engaging education pathways to equip students for careers (and life). They will share examples to demonstrate that any community, regardless of size or challenge, can build a successful STEM ecosystem, to reframe how students learn, how teachers teach, and how workforce pipelines with STEM-skilled individuals can be built and sustained.
“SXSW is known as the best place to learn about emerging technologies and practices across a range of industries. We’re honored that we’ve been selected to share lessons learned from developing and successfully implementing the Ecosystem model,” said Gerald Solomon, co-founder of STEM Learning Ecosystems. “In just two years, the STEM Learning Ecosystems Initiative has grown from a good idea into a thriving network of hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals, joined in regional partnerships and with nationwide connections, all working to build a pathway from early education to career success in STEM fields.”
Each year SXSW EDU looks to the community to help program the Conference & Festival. Voting and evaluation of more than 1,400 ideas took place in three parts: community consideration and choice, SXSW EDU Advisory Board voting, and SXSW EDU staff review. As a result of this crowdsourced process for programming, the STEM Learning Ecosystems panel was one of about 200 topics chosen for the event.
Explore the full SXSW EDU 2018 session line-up here.
The STEM Learning Ecosystems Initiative cultivates and supports 56 Ecosystems working to improve access to high-quality STEM learning for all students. Launched in September 2015 by the STEM Funders Network, the Initiative empowers communities to bring together unlikely local partners and create systemic change to ensure more students, particularly underserved and underrepresented students, develop the STEM knowledge and skills they need to learn and thrive in today’s world. Learn more about the national initiative at stemecosystems.org. Join online conversations on Twitter @STEMecosystems and #STEMecosystems and on Facebook.
