“Inside every child is a scientist. Nurture that scientist and you will change the world.” That's the idea behind STEMpower. Based on the vision of former Boston physicist, philanthropist and STEMpower founder Mark Gelfand, the NGO aims to get students excited about the exact sciences before they enter university.
111 STEMpower Centers in Africa
Today, there are 111 STEMpower Centers on the African continent. They are located in Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda. Rwanda has already developed a number of programs to promote STEM, especially for girls. This momentum continued with the opening of the first STEMpower center in 2021. Since then, eight centers have opened across the country, with four more recently announced.
With an electronics and computer lab equipped with 30 monitors connected to a server, labs for teaching basic sciences, computers and electronics boards, 3D printers and robotics kits, the STEM center is a complete infrastructure that helps students acquire practical skills to solve problems facing their community.
In addition to traditional students, the surrounding community uses the facilities to improve their IT and electronics skills. Depending on their level of education. All of these activities contribute to the Rwandan government's efforts to reduce the digital divide.
And although they are aimed at high school students, the STEM centers include programs for entrepreneurs up to the age of 30. More STEM centers are set to open next year.
Similar initiatives are multiplying across the continent, developed by local authorities, development partners, foundations and other international organizations. Now, more than ever, is the time to promote STEM.
The challenges of STEM education in Africa
Although Africa is committed to promoting STEM, as evidenced in regional and national science, technology and innovation or STEM education policies in Ethiopia, South Africa and Nigeria, numerous challenges hinder STEM education.
A major constraint is low participation and a weak pipeline in STEM fields, with less than 25% of higher education students pursuing STEM fields, of whom less than 30% are women. This trend subsequently impacts graduation rates (figure 1). Only 18% to 31% of science researchers are women. This issue is partially due to the lack of students’ awareness of the career opportunities in this type of education.
Another constraint is inadequate infrastructure and resources including low access to electricity and internet connectivity, combined with lack of smart classrooms, science laboratories and equipment.
For example, 4 out of 5 of secondary schools in Africa do not have access to electricity and over 90% of schools lack appropriate science labs, however, this figure varies from country to country. In Rwanda for example, 21.6% of secondary schools have science labs compared to 18% in South Africa.
Although most African countries adopted a competence-based curriculum, which is skills-oriented and learner-centered, lack of capacity and inadequate training oblige STEM teachers to resort to traditional, teacher-centered techniques, which are ineffective for STEM learning.