The annual IEEE STEM Summit, held this year on 23 and 24 October, brought together preuniversity educators, IEEE volunteers, and STEM enthusiasts to discuss ways to spark children’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The free virtual summit attracted nearly 1,000 attendees from more than 100 countries. Participants engaged in keynote discussions, networking sessions, and presentations designed to address the most pressing challenges in STEM education. Speakers addressed building a sustainable future, as well as harnessing the power of artificial intelligence in classrooms.
Why a STEM summit?
The event was organized and hosted by the IEEE Educational Activities preuniversity education coordinating committee, whose mission is to foster outreach to school-age children worldwide by helping educators and IEEE volunteers create engaging activities.
The coordinating committee provides resources and services through TryEngineering, an Educational Activities program focused on STEM outreach. The program provides educators with lesson plans, activities, and other resources at no charge for use in their classrooms and in community activities.
Young students’ interest in STEM careers can be ignited when they’re introduced to technologies and learn how they operate.
“With the continued growth of our TryEngineering programs, the IEEE STEM Summit brought together global experts in the field of STEM outreach,” says Jamie Moesch, IEEE Educational Activities managing director. “This event is a wonderful opportunity for people with a passion for inspiring engineering and technology in the next generation to get together, learn, and collaborate.”
Sustainability, space exploration, and AI
The summit opened with a welcome from Mary Ellen Randall, the 2025 IEEE president-elect; Tim Kurzweg, vice president of Educational Activities; and Stamatis Dragoumanos, chair of the preuniversity education coordinating committee. They emphasized the importance of collaboration and innovation in STEM education.
Khadijah Thibodeaux and Heidi Gibson from the Smithsonian Science Education Center introduced Smithsonian Science for Global Goals, a repository of hands-on activities and research designed to help students ages 11 to 18 learn about sustainability issues and experiment with solutions in their community.
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