Washington Invests in STEM

For this month’s News You Can Use, we’ve collected headlines about the local impact of STEM:

• Leaders from Washington State hosted a briefing for members of Congress on the importance of STEM education in today’s economy. Washington STEM, a statewide nonprofit created to advance excellence, equity, and innovation in STEM education, conducted a survey which found that 92 percent of Washington residents believe the state’s next generation will have more opportunities if they have strong STEM skills. Read more about the details of how the state’s communities, businesses, and educators plan to improve STEM education in Washington State and across the nation.

• GeekWire announced that the University of Washington Bothell (UWB) campus recently approved the School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), making it the first school in Washington State to combine all of the STEM fields under one academic unit. By the fall of 2014, UWB will offer 10 undergraduate and two graduate degrees in STEM-related fields.
• Washington Roundtable, a statewide business group, reported that there are more than 25,000 unfilled jobs in the state, 80 percent of which are in high-skill STEM and healthcare disciplines. The demand for these jobs is going to continue to grow and a large gap between the number of open jobs and qualified workers will also continue to grow. Eliminating the gap will require key actions, such as aligning degree programs with employer needs and enhancing student interest and performance in STEM subjects in the K-12 system.