Five Things to Expect at the First STEM Summit in Cebu

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

Have you ever wanted to meet an astronaut? Did you ever dream of inventing something that would change the world? Do you think about ending hunger and poverty? 

These are big dreams and bold claims, sure. But STEM can achieve all of that. 

In case you’ve never heard of it, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Basically, a lot of things in your daily life, from your metal straw to the laptop you use, and a lot of amazing things like rocket ships and Tesla’s self-driving cars, happened because of people studying and working in STEM. 

Here in the Philippines, you can choose to study STEM in senior high school. You can also work as a scientist, technician, engineer, teacher, or any of a vast number of jobs in STEM. The Philippines has 270 scientists for every one million Filipinos, but in other Asian countries, they have so much more! For every Filipino scientist, Singapore has 25; Thailand has 3.5; and Malaysia has eight. 

There are a lot of things we can do to improve that number, and those things will be the subject of discussion at the First Integrated STEM Leadership Summit in Asia, happening in Cebu on November 21 to 24, 2019.

So what can you expect at this summit?

Yes, there will be a real astronaut there.

Dr. Steven Swanson is not only an astronaut, but he’s also a former Commander of the International Space Station! If you’ve ever wanted to meet someone from NASA, someone who’s been to outer space, now’s your chance.

Meet women doing amazing work in STEM.

Some people think men are more suited to STEM work because their brains are wired that way. Actually, a recent study showed that there’s no difference in the way boys’ and girls’ brains process math! So meet some women who are doing amazing work in STEM.  

Joyce Malyn-Smith is the Director for Strategic Initiatives in Workforce and Human Development at the Education Development Center. Her projects involve computational thinking, big data, AI and other advanced technologies.

Lites Viloria is the National Project Coordinator of the Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) Programme of the International Labour Organization. The programme is intended to encourage more girls to choose to take Technology courses, and to help more women working in STEM-related occupations to stay and advance in tech-related industries. 

Meet them and other women from the Philippines and other countries, all working in STEM.

Learn about how STEM affects everything: from education to employment to the economy.

STEM is crucial to economic and industrial development, and not just in relation to science and technology fields but even agriculture and education. And STEM education can have a big impact on the skills and capabilities of our labor force too.

Lance Bush, PhD., President and CEO of the Challenger Center, will talk about the relevance of STEM to real world problems, while Dr. M. S. Vijay Kumar, Executive Director, Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab (J-WEL) and Associate Dean for Open Learning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will talk about leadership in STEM, higher education and workplace learning.

STEM isn’t just math and science.

Did you know that socio-emotional learning is important in STEM? Learn about this important connection from Victoria Levin, Senior Economist at the World Bank.

Learn about how STEM and STEM education can contribute to nation-building.

There are many keynote speeches, panel discussions and breakout sessions happenings over the three-day conference. One of the panel discussions is titled “The Intersection of STEM education, industry agenda and nation-building,” and will feature David Hollands, Strategy Manager of HP Asia Pacific & Japan, Tonisito M.C. Umali of the Department of Education, and Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevarao of the Department of Science and Technology.

The First Integrated STEM Leadership Summit in Asia is presented by the US-based STEM Leadership Alliance, UNILAB Foundation, Microsoft Philippines, the Center for Integrated STEM in the Philippines (CISTEM), University of the Philippines College of Education, C&E Publishing, Inc.

Event partners include the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the National Council of Teachers of Math (NCTM), the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and the American Association for Engineering Education (ASEE). The event is supported by the Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation and The Teacher’s Gallery.

For more information, visit www.stemsummitasia.org.