STEM Education in a Wider Context Ken Walsh, Ph.D. Dean, SDSU-Georgia

Agenda Why do I care? The SDSU-Georgia project Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) in the world What do we do about it in schools?

SDSU-G 101 SDSU offers US degrees in STEM fields in Georgia Goals: Economic development via workforce Accelerate recovery of Georgian higher education sector Associated with top 3 public universities in Georgia Tbilisi State University Ilia State University Georgia Technical University

History and Status First cohort uptake in Fall 2015 Faculty development program Infrastructure improvements Current degree programs: Electrical and Computer Engineering Computer Science Chemistry/biochemistry Civil/Construction Engineering 40% women 33% socially vulnerable

Faculty Development 54 visitors to San Diego so far Extensive visits Co-teach, use equipment Teaching methods and approaches

Renovation & Construction

Why STEM? STEM fields build a modern economy Innovation, not production, is the key to building wealth Innovators build new companies and new employment base STEM employment huge global demand huge needs in Georgia high salaries STEM degree fields drive all modern industries and all modern economies. Countries that do not produce enough STEM professionals will not be able to compete going forward. Even massive economies like the US, China, and the EU are worrying about their ability to produce enough. For example recent salary surveys found that the STEM degree fields DOMINATE the list of the highest paid careers, both in the US and around the world. Our four majors consistently rank in the top 10 for salary potential after graduation and in career in salary surveys, both in the US and internationally. STEM fields show continued salary growth – at an annualized rate of up to 8%/year even in the global economic slowdown. There IS DEMAND for STEM professionals, but currently there is not a sufficient supply of Georgian engineers and scientists to meet that demand. As a consequence, Georgia currently IMPORTS STEM workforce, which is both expensive and economically inefficient. Employers tell us that, even though the salaries for STEM are many times the average for Georgian workers, there remains insufficient supply of technically skilled graduates. In the US, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology reported that the US alone will be at least 1M STEM professionals behind its needs over the next 10 years. In India, which produces 100’s of 1000’s of engineers per year, employers struggle to find enough graduates of programs with the quality stamp of internationally accreditation to meet demand. Countiries with the highest demand, such as India and China – preferentially seek US degrees, which continue to be ranked as the best in the world for STEM. Through this program, Georgians can obtain a US degree in STEM, at a fraction of the cost of seeking such a degree in the US.

Enormous Challenges Global Warming Energy and Cyber Security Emerging Disease Threats Urbanization and Polution Poverty Terrorism

Enormous Challenges Global Warming Energy and Cyber Security Emerging Disease Threats Urbanization and Polution Poverty Terrorism Does the education we offer prepare our students to solve the challenges we face? If we think the answer is “yes” – what is the EVIDENCE? If we think the answer is “no” – what are we doing about it?

Shanghai - 1987 and today

Companies that Did Not Exist in 2000 Facebook Instagram WhatsApp Uber Airbnb Spotify Dropbox Skype Just missing the list – google (‘98) Wifi was a misspelled word in 2000. Keep in mind – the jobs the students we are educating TODAY will have, DON’T EXIST TODAY. Do you have a smart phone? What do you use it for?

STEM statistics STEM employment growth is 3x Non-STEM Example: Need for 50% more data scientists by the time our students graduate >40% of foreign students in US study STEM. Up to 2/3 of them don’t go back home STEM degrees most common in the world’s wealthiest people STEM degree fields drive all modern industries and all modern economies. Countries that do not produce enough STEM professionals will not be able to compete going forward. Even massive economies like the US, China, and the EU are worrying about their ability to produce enough. STEM employment grew at a rate THREE TIMES more than non-STEM employment over the last decade, and that rate is only expected to increase. Global demand for data scientists, for example, is expected to grow by 50% by the time our first group of students graduate in 2019. The overwhelming majority of foreign students who study in the US is for STEM degrees – about 40% of ALL STUDENTS WHO GO TO THE US. This is expensive and difficult, and a large fraction (something like 2/3-3/4) of those students never go back to their home countries. Recent data has shown – Among the wealthiest people in the world, degrees in STEM, not business or law, are most common.

What can a school leader do?

What can a school leader do? Excited Students Engaged Teachers Collaborative Environment

Excite Students Messaging Resources Gender and Social Vulnerability Extracurricular opportunities

A Riddle A father and son are in a horrible car crash. The father is killed, and the son is raced to the hospital. He’s taken for emergency surgery. The surgeon runs into the room, and is just about to start operating, when suddenly the surgeon says: Wait, I can’t operate - this boy is my son! How is this possible? In the US, applied to University students, EVEN WITH A SAMPLE WHERE WOMEN OUTNUMBERED MEN, AND EVEN IN A GROUP WHO TYPICALLY HAD MOTHERS WHO WERE DOCTORS…. Only 15% were able to say the surgeon was the boy’s MOTHER. Even of self-described feminists, only 20% could find that explanation. NOTE – Georgian exit exam data show that girls do better than boys on STEM exams, BUT – Girls are less likely to be confident in their ability, and less likely to indicate that they are good in these subjects.

University STEM Programs Outcome Gap Representation of Women in: University Programs University STEM Programs High-tech Workforce 54% 42% 16% … at a time when STEM Employers report a significant problem in recruiting STEM workforce … AND STEM knowledge workers drive the global economy

Engage Teachers Seek opportunities for training and development Encourage Support with resources Creativity

Colleges/ Universities Collaborate Private Sector Colleges/ Universities Students Schools Reach outside the classroom Partnerships Technology Resourcing