Early in 2005, Honolulu Advertiser’s Newspaper in Education (NIE) Director Jennifer Dang and Lynn Fujioka (WIT Oahu Project Manager and President/Founder of isisHawaii) began a passionate conversation to address Hawaii's need for a qualified STEM workforce in Hawaii.
As a result of their efforts, an unprecedented alliance was formed
among the Honolulu Advertiser, the Maui Economic Development Board’s
(MEDB) Women in Technology (WIT) Project and isisHawaii to improve the
STEM education to workforce pipeline throughout the state.
Although there were already STEM programs and initiatives in place in
Hawaii, Dang and Fujioka realized these efforts would be significantly
more effective if they were somehow connected to leverage individual
strengths and align missions.
The first milestone came in April 2006 when the STEM Hawaii newspaper tabloid was developed and published.
Entitled “What is S.T.E.M. and why YOU should care,” this comprehensive
people’s report was the first to unite diverse academic, government and
industry groups in finding solutions for the growing shortage of
qualified science and technology professionals across the islands.
Anchoring the piece was a statewide survey conducted by the Maui
Economic Development Board projecting the growth of the tech industry
in Hawaii and the specific skill sets needed for the future.
In 2007, a second STEM Hawaii edition, “The New 3Rs – Rigor, Relevance
& Relationships,” was published in tandem with the launch of this
website. Although declining academic standings and increased demands for a
technologically-qualified workforce are still major issues, our
communities are now committed to working together to better prepare
students for 21st century careers.
If you are a student, professional or interested party who wants to get involved, please email us at info@stemhawaii.com.
Mahalo!
Also read: The New 3Rs
Women in Technology is a demonstration project administered by the Maui
Economic Development Board, Inc., and is funded in part by the U.S.
Departments of Education, Agriculture and Labor as a workforce
development initiative to encourage women, girls and other under
represented minorities into science- and math-related fields.
isisHawaii is a Hawaii-based not-for-profit organization that provides
resources and opportunities to local students (K16) to foster and
sustain their interests in STEM education and career exploration.
Newspaper in Education is a program administered by The Honolulu
Advertiser to encourage literacy among students using the newspaper as
a teaching tool in the classroom.
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