Outreach
A Glance at our Programs
Our main outreach program, STEM Talent Expansion through Promotion of Science (STEPS), is targeted towards elementary through high school students. The activities are balanced among science that students can do on their own at home and ‘hot topics’ – we never shy away from complex science!
We strived for exciting yet relatable STEM activities, with funds raised through partnerships, foundations, and crowdsourcing. This means that our programs have been free for our target audiences.
Programming for professionals serves to stimulate and support collaborations, professional development, knowledge/resource exchange, and technology development.
Professional Development & Career Fairs
· Virtual Shadowing
· Leadership Coaching
· Individual Development Plans
· Résumés/CVs, Cover letters, Interviewing & Negotiations
· Career Exploration & Strategic Career Design
· Informational Interviews
· Using LinkedIn
· Public Health
· Computer Science/Computational Biology
· Biotech and Pharma
· Virology
· Oncology
· Obstetrics & Gynecology
· Nursing
· Physician Assistant
· Neuroscience
· Dentistry
· Aerospace Engineering
· Civil Engineering
Premier outreach program
We primarily achieve this through STEPS (STEM Talent Expansion through Promotion of Science) – our major outreach effort, professional development activities and intercultural exchange.
Key qualities of STEPS:
- Students target age range: 9-14 – before they make decisions about whether science is not for them.
- 70% of participant space allocated to students from underserved or underrepresented backgrounds in STEM.
- Experiential learning.
- Selection of experiments bears accessibility in mind, commonly using accessible household items so our student ambassadors can replicate on their own.
- Exposure to advanced techniques to pique students’ interest about the world around them, health and disease.
Student quote
“I did not know they were real until now,” said a primary school student when asked if they had ever interacted with a scientist.
Professional development
We believe in exposing our beneficiaries to content to help to mitigate ‘learning the hard way’ since the road to a successful career in science will come with valleys along with the peaks!
Key qualities of Career workshops:
- Advice on maximizing social media e.g. LinkedIn use for career advancement
- Tips on job hunting for trainees in the scientific pipeline
- Individual Development Plans
- Best practices for networking
- Personal branding
Intercultural Exchange
Undergraduate students receive experiential and service-learning opportunities through content development and workshop facilitation!
Key qualities of International Exchange:
- Multifaceted learning experience
- Learning about workshop design and execution
- Gaining teaching experiences
- Conference presentation practice
- Networking practice
- International/intercultural exposure
