STEM is widely used term in the western culture and has gained significant momentum in India as well recently. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, a term first introduced by Judith Ramaley, an American biologist and educator. It focuses on building knowledge and skills in these disciplines to prepare students for innovation-driven careers.
The concept gained momentum in the early 2000s in the U.S., when reports like Rising Above the Gathering Storm (2005) highlighted the need for a strong STEM foundation to ensure economic prosperity and solve societal challenges.
India has long recognized the value of STEM. The National Education Policy (NEP) 1968 laid the groundwork for integrating science and technology into education. Later, the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 emphasized hands-on learning, creativity, and reducing social disparities. The New Education Policy 2020 also talks about integrating STEM learning in the curriculum. STEM fosters critical thinking, problem-solving, and a foundation for emerging fields like machine learning, artificial intelligence, and life sciences.
Despite the efforts of the Government, challenges remain. Access to STEM education varies significantly across gender, rural-urban divides, and social groups. For example, rural male and female enrolment in STEM courses is around 40%, while urban enrolment exceeds 50%. To address these challenges, I think for us there are more reasons that just addressing this gap! We focused on girl children getting into STEM, we also focused on bringing STEM in urban and rural schools in Bengaluru where uptake of such skilled human resource is higher since IT and industrial hubs are nearby and also there was interest from the corporates also to fund such initiatives under corporate social responsibility act. UWBe started focussing on introducing STEM in Government schools of Karnataka.
United Way Bengaluru (UWBe), through its STEM initiative has installed 147 STEM labs in Government schools across Karnataka over the last few years. The objective was to develop the scientific mind-set among Government school students and encourage them to take up STEM related courses in their higher education. Over the period, while setting up the labs, UWBe is constantly seeking inputs and suggestions from the various stakeholders on the importance and usage of the labs. The idea was to collaborate with teachers and help them in their session delivery while helping students understanding the concepts using the models and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) kits placed in the labs.
United Way Bengaluru’s renewed Approach to STEAM
In this year (FY 2024-25), UWBe started looking at the intervention from a different lens. Adding the “A” in STEAM introduces Arts—visual arts, crafts and enhancing knowledge about STEAM related concepts through books—to foster creativity, communication, and collaboration. The whole engagement will be classroom focussed where classrooms will be turned into comprehensive STEAM spaces which will have a set of DIY kits relevant to the grade, a digital set-up having the digital content as well as simulations and a STEAM library with books focussing on specific concepts.
The program promotes holistic development, encouraging students to think beyond logic and explore creative fields. After multiple interactions with different stakeholders including teachers, experts, education officials, UWBe has begun transforming classrooms into STEAM spaces. The kits will enable teachers to teach the concepts using hands on tools and students will learn them by doing. Using of digital aids also help in enhancing the understanding of the concepts. The DIY kits are aligned with the state curriculum. The library will have books relevant to the grade appropriate STEAM concepts.
Apart from the classroom based model, UWBe is also setting up STEAM parks in the selected Government schools. These parks will be set up in the open spaces/grounds and will have 2-D and 3-D models which will create curiosity among the students about the science and innovation. The schools will be selected strategically which will be at the cluster or a block level so that the large number of students can visit the STEAM parks and gain knowledge.
To provide more fodder to the students’ creativity who take interest in STEAM, we shall introduce basic robotics and tinkering as well. The idea is that the students should come up with the solutions for some of the local community issues and develop models for the same. The students will be encouraged to prepare working models and UWBe will support the bright students with the resources and mentoring. The corporate volunteers will play a major role in shaping up the creative young mindsets. The students showcasing innovation will be encouraged to participate in the science based competitions at various levels.
By providing all these opportunities, we can evolve into vibrant spaces for creativity, critical thinking, and innovation, building a solid foundation for students’ futures. With teacher training, structured sessions, and efficient monitoring, this can help unlock students’ full potential.
This National Science Day on 28th February, 2025, let’s all come together and appreciate the efforts of the students and the teachers to explore science and utilise the resources wisely and hopefully it will help to bring solutions to some of the pertinent problems the planet is facing today.