Critical thinking, analyzing data, and solving problems through creative solutions - these are just some of the advantages students can get if they learn STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at an early age.
STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating learners in these specific disciplines using an interdisciplinary and applied approach. Believing that high quality STEM education would help train students to think critically, Globe launched the “Globe Maker Lab and Innovation Hub.”
A program designed to enhance the delivery of world-class STEM education to underprivileged K to 12 students, “Globe Maker Lab and Innovation Hub” also includes a program for out-of-school youth and a teacher training program to help public schools under the Department of Education (DepEd) to launch their own hubs.
The program, in partnership with Mano Amiga, aims to spark interest as well as strengthen the knowledge and skills of students ages 10 to 13 in STEM and eventually, help develop the workforce of the future.
Mano Amiga is a school that provides affordable, high-quality K to 12 education to learners from low-income families. The program was launched in October 2020 with the implementation of Mano Amiga’s STEM Club wherein students learned Electronics.
A module on Coding was then completed by the students during the first quarter of 2021.
Students were able to grasp the concept of electronics through STEM kits. In the culminating activity called the STEM challenge, students were asked to create fun and useful items using concepts they learned.
The project that stood out was an artificial candle designed for use in emergency situations like typhoons.
“After the experiment I asked him why was he so happy and he said that even if he was failing while trying to do the experiment, it feels good that he is having fun while learning,” the parent of a ten-year-old student learning STEM under Globe and Mano Amiga’s Maker Lab and Innovation Hub program shared.
Meanwhile, Globe Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP for Corporate Communications Yoly Crisanto shared that Globe’s vision is for the nation to embrace STEM education, which is vital to harnessing local talent and skills for economic advancement. “We want to instill early interest in STEM among students, to help them thrive and be more successful in this innovation-driven age,” she added.
For Mano Amiga Executive Director Lynn Pinugu said that “as learning continues at home, we are grateful to Globe for enabling Mano Amiga to deliver a competitive and dynamic online STEM program to equip more Filipino students with skills and knowledge they need to thrive and innovate in an ever-changing, increasingly complex world.”