IEEE TryEngineering Global Classroom Visits is bringing together today’s engineers and technical professionals with students and classrooms around the globe. This program is a way for educators to virtually invite an engineer into their classrooms to give school-aged and pre-university students a better understanding of what it means to be an engineer.
Why Global Classroom Visits?
One of the best ways to foster a diverse workforce is to improve the diversity of the STEM pipeline. Opportunities for pre-university students to meet STEM professionals who are themselves from diverse backgrounds is critical. Meeting STEM professionals is vital, but meeting a STEM professional who looks like them or comes from a similar background as them can be a game changer. The students can then envision themselves as an engineer or technical professional increasing the likelihood that they would pursue a STEM career. The more opportunities pre-university students have to engage with engineers the more likely they are to pursue a STEM career.
Immediate Past Chair of the IEEE Pre-University Education Coordinating Committee, Lorena Garcia, recently shared her thoughts on what inspired her to start this program.
“The lack of diversity in STEM professions is a significant concern,” stated Garcia. “One of the most effective ways to address this issue is to provide pre-university students with opportunities to connect with inspiring role models who reflect the diverse landscape of STEM. This allows students to see themselves as future engineers and technical professionals, breaking down barriers and igniting their passion for STEM.”
Garcia continued to describe that the program was designed to inspire students while meeting the challenge of finding the right engineers.
“For an educator of pre-university students, it can be difficult to find engineers who can join the classroom to share their personal and professional experiences. Global Classroom Visits features a user-friendly platform where teachers can browse profiles of vetted engineers and technical professionals, selecting those who best align with their curriculum and student needs.”
By providing students with unparalleled access to inspiring STEM role models, Global Classroom Visits has the potential to significantly impact the future of STEM diversity.”
How It Works
TryEngineering recently launched the beta version of Global Classroom Visits and is in search of volunteers to build a robust selection of engineers from which educators can select. Registered volunteers will share about themselves, their background, and their expertise. A visit as an engineer could be a career QA session, a presentation on a particular technical topic, technical mentoring to support a hands-on activity challenge, judge a competition, etc. Interested volunteers can learn more and register here.
“I invite all engineers and technical professionals passionate about diversity and inclusion to join us in this transformative initiative,” Garcia stated regarding kicking-off the program. “By volunteering your time and sharing your expertise, you can inspire the next generation of STEM leaders and build a more diverse and equitable future for our field.”
Teachers will soon be able to search the database and identify an engineer to virtually visit their classroom. Once the selection is made, the teacher and engineer can communicate through the platform to arrange the visit and discuss what the visit will entail. When the details are set, the teacher will send the engineer a link for a virtual visit. Following the visit, teachers will also be able to provide students with an ebook to further engage and inspire them about all things STEM.
Let’s inspire tomorrow’s technical leaders today through Global Classroom Visits from TryEngineering-register today!