Lenovo exec says STEM is vital to today’s workforce :: STEM Education at WRAL Tech Wire

Updated Sep. 6, 2010 at 7:20 a.m.

Lenovo exec says STEM is vital to today’s workforce

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Mike Schmedlen is the director of worldwide education at Lenovo, where he is responsible for constructing relevant solutions which improve outcomes for students at all levels of academia.

In addition to being a leader in STEM education reform at the highest level as well as a popular blogger, he also collaborates with research staff, product teams, and educational service providers to ensure needs are addressed in the development and application of Lenovo's solutions for K-12 and higher education.

Most importantly, he listens to teachers, professors, and administrators to ensure the best innovations are shared globally.

Local Tech Wire STEM News recently spoke with Schmedlen about the current state of STEM education and some of the things Lenovo is doing in North Carolina and around the world to improve STEM education standards:

What is Lenovo doing to advance STEM education?
Lenovo's approach to STEM and all of education is two-fold: We want to help schools increase learning outcomes and improve their operational efficiency. Also, we've recently made education our focus for social investments, so the vast majority of Lenovo's philanthropy is now education-based. Because we're a technology company, many of the projects we support are aimed at advancing STEM in schools around the world.

So, where is Lenovo dedicating resources in N.C. and beyond?

In North Carolina, we serve on the North Carolina Science, Mathematics and Technology Education (SMT) Center board of directors. Nationally, we serve on the Innovate+Educate industry board, and globally, we serve on the board of advisors for the World Economic Forum’s Global Education Initiative. We are also actively engaged with the Consortium for School Networking, a MacArthur-funded Web 2.0 project which hopes to bring quality STEM education to all students – regardless of location. Finally, it was my honor to personally present ThinkPad laptops to the recipients of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Science and Mathematics to four great teachers in the spring. We're also sponsoring the North Carolina Science Festival that starts on Sept. 11 and runs Sept. 26. This is an incredible state-wide event which will promote science and engage the community from the Outer Banks to Bryson City! We are following this up by sponsoring two lectures by Dr. Tony Aveni, an archaeoastronomer. His first will be at Appalachian State University, followed by another in Chapel Hill. His book, "The End of Time: The Maya Mystery of 2012" is an excellent engagement vehicle for science, physics, and astronomy.

Sounds like a busy year so far. What are some specific education programs Lenovo has implemented?

Lenovo worked with Northwestern University professor Dr. Kemi Jona to develop a mobile laboratory of netbooks which communicate with the award-winning iLabs project. This project is very cool. It gives K-12 students access to incredible scientific devices like huge telescopes and electron microscopes. This equipment resides in the U.S. network of National Laboratories as well as institutions like MIT. We’re also working with East Carolina University on the NOAA and NSF-funded SSTORM (Sediment and Solute Transfer on Rivers and Margins) program. Right now there are ThinkPad laptops in buoys in the Albemarle Sound tracking water levels, pollutants, salinity and more; feeding data back into workstations at ECU. This program helps us promote STEM while improving the natural environment in our home state of North Carolina.

The most significant project is Lenovo’s Education Research Initiative. We’ve partnered with Microsoft and Intel to study technology’s effects on learning outcomes and efficiency of educational institutions. We’re in year one of the three-year project which will address all four key areas in education: K-12 Public Schools; K-12 Independent Schools; Higher Education; and Non-Governmental Organizations. The core site for higher education is UNC-Chapel Hill’s Center for Faculty Excellence. We also are involved via Cary Academy – a participant in the Student Global Leadership Institute – for our project for independent schools. Cary Academy joins Phillips Exeter, Sidwell Friends, Punahou School, and five schools from China in this great global program. This brings together students from schools around the world to work on community service projects which will have local and global impact. I encourage everyone to follow Cary Academy's water team on Twitter @CAwaterweek. Their team is combining traditional STEM disciplines like chemistry and technology with humanities to create solutions to improve and sustain the global fresh water supply.

In your view, how important is STEM to the U.S. economy overall?

STEM is critically important to workforce development and, thus, the economy in the United States. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are the new vernacular for our increasingly interconnected world. Students must learn how to critically think about issues through these lenses in order to continue the great history of innovation which has so benefitted the United States.

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Tags: STEM education, NC SMT, Lenovo

STEM Education

STEM News is generated through a collaborative effort between the NC STEM Learning Network and WRAL Tech Wire. To submit story ideas, please email WTW Editor Rick Smith rsmith@wral.com or Noah Garrett noah@thinkngc.com.) Read more articles…

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