Hawaii STEM Conference Hackathons will encourage social, cultural and environmental citizenship

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Hawaii STEM Conference Hackathons will encourage social, cultural and environmental citizenship

Three fast-paced Hackathons held during the 10th Annual Hawaii STEM Conference on May 1 & 2, 2019, will challenge student teams to make a social, cultural and environmental impact.

VOYAGING SONG CHALLENGE: In this hack, students will be challenged to create a voyaging song that embodies the spirit of Polynesian Voyaging Society’s mission to bring together nations from around the Pacific and world in peace and to raise awareness for the oceans and environment.

CORAL HACK: In this hackathon, student teams will be challenged to find solutions and bring attention to our planet’s coral reefs that face great peril as the oceans heat up.

CITIZEN SCIENCE HACCUP: In this hack, participants will bring attention to our planet’s endangered and threatened animals through their creative efforts to develop a new app that will mobilize citizen scientists. Utilizing their creativity and great design, they’ll be asked to excite people around the world to join up as citizen scientists recording discoveries, uploading observations and drawing more volunteers in an effort to make a difference.

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10th Annual Hawaii STEM Conference offers empowering STEM experiences

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10th Annual Hawaii STEM Conference offers empowering STEM experiences

Educators and students are invited to immerse themselves in a dynamic, interactive Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) event are invited to attend the 10th Annual Hawaii STEM Conference on May 1 and 2 at the Hawaii Convention Center on Oahu. Registration will be accepted through April 26, 2019.  For event details and to register, visit www.hawaiistemconference.org.

The conference is presented by STEMworks™ a statewide initiative of Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB).

This year’s event is expected to attract over 1,000 STEMworks™/Service Learning students and 300 teachers from K-12 schools on the islands of Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Hawaii Island, and Oahu; along with prominent speakers, industry leaders, and event partners. During this regional technology conference, attendees will explore the latest technology tools and resources designed to inspire problem solving, critical thinking, innovation, collaboration and communication. They will also hear stories of inspiration and engage in activities with some of the biggest names in STEM.

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Around the World, Girls Still Face Challenges in STEM Education

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Around the World, Girls Still Face Challenges in STEM Education

AS THE SEVENTH International Day of the Girl is observed on Thursday, experts remind the public that providing a complete education for girls and women worldwide remains a challenge. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, girls are still more likely than boys to never enter into a school system, yet countries are committed to closing the gender gap by 2030 and also achieve universal completion of secondary education.

According to a February UNESCO report, “Historically, girls and young women were more likely to be excluded from education.”

“However globally, the male and female out-of-school rates for the lower secondary and upper secondary school-age populations are now nearly identical, while the gender gap among children of primary school age dropped from more than five percentage points in 2000 to two percentage points in 2016,” the report adds.

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Commanders in Chief: The Women Building America’s Military Machine

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Commanders in Chief: The Women Building America’s Military Machine

CEOs Marillyn Hewson of Lockheed Martin, Leanne Caret of Boeing’s defense division, and Lynn Dugle of Engility discuss the challenges of leading amid hypersonic change.

“THE LAST MAN STANDING.” That’s what some on Wall Street have recently nicknamed Tom Kennedy, the chairman and CEO of Raytheon. After all, he’s the only leader of a top five U.S. defense business who isn’t on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list—and for that fact, says Kennedy, “I couldn’t be prouder of our industry.”

This July, Northrop Grumman announced that CEO Wes Bush would step down at the end of the year and be replaced by the first woman to hold that office, current COO Kathy Warden. She will join an elite club of defense contractor CEOs that includes Lockheed Martin’s Marillyn Hewson, General Dynamics’ Phebe Novakovic, and Leanne Caret, who heads Boeing’s defense, space, and security division. Together, their companies generated a staggering $110 billion in defense-related revenue last year.



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MEDB Event Raises $320,000 for STEM Education

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MEDB Event Raises $320,000 for STEM Education

The annual Ke Alahele Education Fund Benefit Dinner raised an estimated $320,000 to support Maui Economic Development Board and STEM education programs in Hawaiʻi. Nearly 500 guests attended this year’s event, held on Sept. 1 at the Grand Wailea Resort.

The evening showcased Maui County’s STEM stars and their accomplishments in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.

New to the event was the presentation of the Czechowicz Award, created by two former teachers Lesley and Pawel Czechowicz in honor of their mothers. This year’s award recognized three exceptional STEMworks™ facilitators in Maui Nui: Cindel Jacintho of Lānaʻi Elementary and High School’s after school program, ʻIolani Kuoha of ʻO Hina I Ka Mālama, Molokaʻi Middle Hawaiian Immersion School, and Emily Haines Swatek of King Kekaulike High School.

As winners of the Czechowicz Award each received $5,000 to use as they please anywhere outside of the classroom.

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Girl Scouts take lead with STEM over Labor Day weekend

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Girl Scouts take lead with STEM over Labor Day weekend

By Susan Essoyan.  Source: staradvertiser.com.

Shari Chang, a fourth-generation Girl Scout, cringes when she hears anyone say Girl Scouts just do “camping and crafts and cookies.”

The CEO of Girl Scouts of Hawaii says the organization is actually a leader in launching girls into careers in the fields known collectively as STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“Girls Scouts nationally for the past 10 years has been on a very progressive and aggressive STEM push,” Chang said in an interview. “It has always been part of Girl Scouts, but this has been the biggest push. … Our Girl Scouts make up the largest pipeline of future female leaders in STEM fields.”

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New Space Science Badges Encourage Girl Scouts to Pursue STEM Education

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New Space Science Badges Encourage Girl Scouts to Pursue STEM Education

By Jasmin Malik Chua.  Source: space.com.

Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) is debuting a set of new badges to encourage girls ages 5 to 18 to explore, observe and investigate the universe like “real space scientists,” the organization announced last month.

Girl Scouts look at Venus with Galileoscopes.
Credit: SETI Institute

Part of next year’s rollout of 30 badges in science, technology and math, as well as the outdoors and life skills, the new badges will serve as the culmination of “fun, age-appropriate” projects for Girl Scout Daisies (grades K-1), Brownies (grades 2-3) and Juniors (grades 4-5). Space Science badges for Cadettes (grades 6-8), Seniors (grades 9-10) and Ambassadors (grades 11-12) will be released at a later date, GSUSA said.

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Female network will deter cybersecurity threats

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Promoting cybersecurity careers and connecting with students will help boost women’s participation in the industry.

By Mariah Kenny.  Source: USNews.com

WHILE ADA LOVELACE IS credited with developing the world’s first computer programming concepts back in 1842, I had never heard about her, let alone the cybersecurity field, until I entered college nearly two centuries later.

And nearly two centuries later, in a field pioneered by a woman, very few women can be found.

Without women to pave the way for other women, the cybersecurity industry will continue to suffer from a limited talent pool. Women are less likely to have role models and mentors in STEM-related fields who embody the career opportunities available to them, and who can also show them how to realize those opportunities.

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2018 STEMworks interns showcase their projects

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KIHEI, MAUI – Thirty-one high school students representing the most promising STEM talent across the state, presented their innovative projects at the 2018 STEMworks™Summer Internship Showcase on July 27, 2018 at the Maui Research & Tech Park on Maui.

The event was streamed live on the STEMworks Hawaii Facebook page,

www.facebook.com/stemworkshawaii, from 10 am to 3 pm.

For six weeks this summer, STEMworks interns were busy using industry standard technologies to develop a meaningful service learning project to improve their community. Along the way, they worked hard at raising the level of their creative and critical thinking, as well as their professional and software skills.

Through the efforts of the Maui Economic Development Board and its partners, STEMworks summer internships have evolved into a hugely successful program that has consistently aligned the abilities and interests of high school students with industry professionals throughout the islands.

The experiences continue to provide invaluable work-based learning for STEM students not only to explore and expand into career pathways, but also to secure viable job opportunities.

This year, 17 girls and 14 boys were selected for internships at 25 host companies and organizations from every island.

MEDB augmented the summer internship experiences with weekly professional speakers, training sessions, as well as STEMworks “LIVE” webinars.  All were designed to inspire and build students’ professional skills in interviewing and resume branding, technical reading, professional networking, ACT/SAT guidance, college planning, and more.

A complete roundup of information, student stories and videos can be found at http://stemworkshawaii.org/internships/.   Or contact Lalaine Pasion at 808-875-2341, email lalaine@medb.org.