The annual IEEE STEM Summit, held this year on October 23-24, brought together pre-college teachers, IEEE volunteers and STEM enthusiasts to discuss ways to spark children’s interest in science, technology, engineering and math.
The free virtual summit attracted nearly 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries. Attendees participated in keynote discussions, networking sessions, and presentations designed to address the most pressing challenges in STEM education. Speakers discussed building a sustainable future and harnessing the power of artificial intelligence in the classroom.
Why a STEM summit?
The event was organized and hosted by the IEEE Educational Activities Pre-College Coordinating Committee, whose mission is to foster awareness among school-age children around the world by helping IEEE educators and volunteers create engaging activities.
The coordinating committee provides resources and services through TryEngineering, an educational activities program focused on STEM awareness. The program provides free lesson plans, activities and other resources for educators to use in their classrooms and community activities.
Young students’ interest in STEM careers can be sparked when they are introduced to technologies and learn how they work.
“With the continued growth of our TryEngineering programs, the IEEE STEM Summit has brought together global experts in the field of STEM outreach,” says Jamie Moesch, IEEE general director of educational activities. “This event is a wonderful opportunity for people passionate about inspiring engineering and technology in the next generation to come together, learn and collaborate.”
The summit opened with welcome remarks from Mary Ellen Randall, IEEE President-elect for 2025; Tim Kurzweg, vice president of educational activities; and Stamatis Dragoumanos, chairman of the pre-university education coordinating committee. They highlighted the importance of collaboration and innovation in STEM education.
Khadijah Thibodeaux and Heidi Gibson of the Smithsonian Science Education Center presented Smithsonian Science for Global Goals, a repository of hands-on activities and research designed to help students ages 11-18 learn about sustainability issues and experiment with solutions in their communities.
Mylswamy Annadurai, program director at the Indian Space Research Organization and known as “India’s Moon Man” for leading the country’s two lunar missions, shared stories of the innovations that fueled his country’s space exploration. He urged summit participants to be resilient, think big and embrace challenges.
Stuart Kohlhagen, founder and director of the Science Nomad initiative, spoke from MAKERHerSpace in Thailand. Kohlhagen champions practical science and critical thinking in formal and informal educational contexts. He discussed practical strategies to improve the critical thinking, creativity and collaboration of students around the world.
Other sessions covered interesting topics in STEM education today. Participants explored inclusive strategies to bridge the digital divide, design thinking as a problem-solving tool, and the effective use of artificial intelligence in pre-college education.
There was a hands-on workshop on rapid engineering, which involves designing and refining instructions to guide AI models to achieve more accurate research results.
Networking sessions and exhibition booths provided additional opportunities for attendees to connect, share ideas and explore resources. More than 2,500 attendees visited exhibition booths hosted by IEEE Technical Societies and industry partners.
Recordings of the summit sessions are available on the IEEE TryEngineering YouTube channel.
Educators can access free resources at TryEngineering.org.
The IEEE Foundation is TryEngineering’s philanthropic partner. Contribute to future events and expand STEM reach globally by visiting the TryEngineering Fund donation page.
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