Leaders and advocates of STEM education are making efforts to take learning beyond just the academics offered in the classroom. The IEEE Pre-University STEM Grant program offered the opportunity for the Science and Technology Workshops for Secondary Schools to launch as a new STEM education opportunity for local Pre-University students in the Nigeria section. The pre-university workshop took place in three different schools, with an aim to train and educate the underserved secondary school students in Lagos on how they can improve their grades to pursue careers in science and technology through activities that are related to their syllabus.
The workshop served 355 students ages 11-18. It was divided into three key sections-career, personal, and teamwork/collaboration. In order to sustain what they learned during the workshop, students were provided with learning booklets as a guide which contained clearly explained career and personal growth plans in STEM and how they can set milestones for themselves. The program highly emphasized hands-on activities, technical skills, and engagement with technical professionals. It also provided the opportunity for involvement of 17 teachers and 22 volunteers to get involved and ensure a successful event.
Following the workshop, a survey was conducted collecting feedback from some of the students. The results indicated that seventy five percent of the students were interested in STEM and will be pursuing careers in the same. Forty percent of the students that attended were girls who were looking for mentoring. In October 2022, the program leaders were informed that about ten percent of the students registered for STEM courses in their schools in preparation for the pre-university examination (West Africa Secondary school Examination) with more girls, unlike previous years. In the future, the program leaders look to enhance the workshop by having a training with the teachers in advance, involving more outside volunteers to create more visibility about IEEE, and including more activities in the workshop to sustain it and make it a termly program for the students.
Science and Technology Workshops for Secondary Schools was a recipient of the 2022 IEEE Pre-University STEM Grant Program.
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