Innovate Raleigh has always had one defining mission: Make the Triangle one of the top five centers for innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
That mission faces few challenges greater than the low level of STEM programming being integrated into K-12 curricula and a lack of diversity in the tech community, says executive director Jenny Hwa.
Though reversing the latter has become a focus locally, nationally and globally, improvement has been slow. Underrepresented minorities only account for 10% of the workforce in engineering and science disciplines while making up nearly a quarter of the population of 21 and older, according to data from Change the Equation.
Meanwhile, a study at Georgetown University predicts that by 2018, North Carolina companies will require over 200,000 STEM jobs, up 17% from 2008. Innovate Raleigh thinks it has a possible solution for both problems—a new initiative geared toward minority and female high school and community college students, especially those who haven’t had exposure to science, technology, engineering or math.
It’s called InnovateEDU and it kicks off with a summit for 9th and 10th grade students this Wednesday, April 13 at the North Carolina Museum of History, followed, later in the day by a college version at Shaw University.
There’s much more. Read the full story at:
http://exitevent.com/article/summit-to-inspire-women-minority-students-stem-160411
Note: ExitEvent is a news partner of WRAL TechWire.
