STEM advocates seek ways to improve education for pre-university students. Educators in Serbia observed that students easily grasp textbook concepts, but lack skills in practical areas of STEM. Let STEM Visit Again IEEESTEC was a 2022 a pre-university program from the Serbia/Montenegro Section (R8). In this program, students worked in a team, exchanged ideas, and identified and solved problems. The program successfully launched in 2021. It was one of three programs to receive a TryEngineering STEM grant in both 2021 and 2022.

The course objectives were to enable students to identify applications of selected electronic devices, interpret electronic components datasheets, and assemble and test specific electronic circuits. The main goal of the project was to encourage the involvement of the pre-university students in STEM through participation in the IEEESTEC Student’s Projects Conference. The second goal was to enhance the competencies of the relative pre-university educators to the more STEM-oriented concepts. The third was to empower engagement and collaboration between local STEM institutions and the local pre-university communities.

This year, the program included 126 students, an increase from 87 in 2021. It also included ten teachers and ten volunteers, also both an increase from 2021. The program focused on microcontroller workshops and their relevance around the world. The main topics covered included digital pins, analog-to-digital conversion, interrupts, PWM signal, implementation of communication protocols. There was also a focus on LEDs, motors, and LCD displays. Additionally, the workshops included the use of Arduino and Nucleo development boards. During this program, participants developed technical and communication skills. They also solved real-life problems and learned about engineering career pathways. Finally, program activities concluded at FEE-UNI where participants met at a conference with about 450 researchers. 

A survey was conducted at the end of the program. The survey revealed that students were most satisfied with the fact that they practically realized their tasks on the breadboards. A competitive quiz was also administered to the students to evaluate their skills learned. In the future, the program hopes to provide more sophisticated microcontroller equipment to the students. They also hope to recruit the participation of local companies. 

Let STEM Visit Again IEEESTEC was a recipient of the 2022 IEEE Pre-University STEM Grant Program.

IEEE TryEngineering and the IEEE Foundation have partnered to raise donations in support of the IEEE STEM Grant Program. If you would like to contribute, please make a donation via our IEEE TryEngineering Fund donation Page.