A major initiative to boost STEM teaching in order to inspire the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians has been hailed as a significant success, according to a newly published evaluation report.
The STEM Alliance has made major inroads tackling key problems, with one major outcome – The STEM Exchange, which forges direct links between education and industry – having been granted further funding to expand its features and take up.
Among the notable successes were:
- More than 1,000 businesses across the country have signed up to The STEM Exchange – to engage directly with educators about their respective needs
- A vast raft of teaching and training resources (more than 200) have been created with online access
- More than 1,100 practitioners and providers participated in CPD Share Workshops –with 85% finding them extremely valuable and would like more
- Engagement with hundreds of graduates that now express an interest in teaching STEM
Chief operating officer of Semta – the not-for-profit employer-led organisation which managed and directed The STEM Alliance, Al Parkes commented: “The STEM Alliance has made a significant impact opening up new channels of communication and access to powerful resources – which will help recruit and retain high quality teaching staff.
“One particular high point is the further investment into The STEM Exchange. This is a fantastic platform for industry and education to work together to offer free CPD opportunities to teachers and tutors who are inspiring the next generation to enter STEM careers.
“Industry is embracing the opportunity to interact directly with educators, discuss requirements and challenges – and pass on experience and knowledge for the benefit of all.”
A new feature of The STEM Exchange is The STEM Experience, which allows employers to offer work experience opportunities to people of all ages.
As a result of 65% of providers requiring support to retain and recruit STEM teaching talent, STEM Engage – a versatile, bespoke web-based platform – was created to provide access to a variety of related research, materials and tools to support this area.
See the full report here.
The STEM Alliance was commissioned and funded by The Education and Training Foundation, which is owned by the FE and training sector.
Semta believes that the successful work of The STEM Alliance should be built upon and continue to benefit the sector and is actively seeking further partnerships with fully funded, charities and commercial entities to help make this happen.
