Joint STEM Initiative

Charlotte is growing fast in certain sectors of business that drive up demand in several jobs.  One of the faster growing jobs is software engineer.  Jocelyn Keung is a senior software engineer, but she doesn’t have a computer science degree.  

Jocelyn points out that software is a career with very diverse applications.  She believes one of the most important skills to success in this field is problem solving, not coding like many people think.  In addition, Jocelyn is in Charlotte Inno’s “Inno Under 25”, a collection of bright young tech leaders.  She founded the Fleurix, the women in tech conference, is featured in the bonus episode.

You can also watch this podcast on YouTube by visiting Joint STEM Initiative channel.

Here are the related information:

Fleurix Conference - https://www.fleurixconf.com/

Inno under 25 - https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/inno/stories/inno-insights/2020/09/24/charlotte-inno-under-25.html

NC Careers - https://nccareers.org/

The best way of learning 4C (Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration and Communication) is through project based learning.  However, it is not an easy thing to implement in the classroom but we have found a great approach called FIRST robotics.

FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.  Simply put, each robotics team runs like a small business, the team raises funds then designs and builds robots to play sports competitions.  Adult mentors help students to learn, to grow, sometimes even help students to jump start their career.

We will briefly cover the program, the viewpoint from students, and the perspective from employers.  Check it out!

You can also watch our podcast by subscribe the Joint STEM Initiative YouTube channel!

Here are other related information:
FIRST Is… (https://youtu.be/i8wUIzmJGxM)
FIRST Robotics (http://firstinspires.org)
Dean Kamen’s FIRST Robotics Competition (Full Segment) | Real Sports w/ Bryant Gumbel | HBO (https://youtu.be/18OCZz8yKtU)

According to Strada Education Network and Gallup, 51% US audits has second thoughts on their education decisions.  They would change their degree, field of study, or change institution.  This is a waste of resources and our businesses ended up with trouble to fill jobs.

Olympic High School took an different approach that they are making sure students are as career ready as college ready.  We interview Mike Realon about the success with this different approach as well the best project learning experience: the FIRST robotics program.

This episode also feature a past TEDx speaker India Gregory, a Olympic High School graduate on her experience how FIRST robotics helped to maintain the learning interest and eventually lead to a great career.

Want to know more about:
What school could be (https://teddintersmith.com/what-school-could-be/)
FIRST Robotics (http://firstinspires.org/)
NAF career academy (https://naf.org/)
Olympic High School (https://schools.cms.k12.nc.us/olympicHS)

You can watch this episode on YouTube and follow our channel @ Joint STEM Initiative

The idea of starting this podcast is we believe STEM career is a good way to improve the economics mobility of our community.  It usually come with better income and it may not require a college degree.  We are setting up the journey to explore every about STEM and what STEM professional cares about!