Encouraging future generations into STEM

Despite a huge boom in technological innovation around the world and an expanding tech industry, the number of graduates who have come from STEM subjects remains relatively low. Just over a quarter of university graduates in the UK have studied a STEM course, and in the US it’s less than 1-in-5.  Within that, there is still a huge disparity in gender after secondary school compulsory education.

In this episode we’ll be looking at how we can engage the next, and future generations in science and technology-led professions, and the importance of role models in showing what can be achieved by a career in STEM, with former NASA rocket scientist, STEM ambassador, entrepreneur and confirmed future astronaut, Aisha Bowe.

This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week we look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations and what we can learn from it.

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About the expert: https://www.aishabowe.com/

Sources and statistics cited in this episode:
Statistics for the percentage of the UK working population in STEM careers - https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmsctech/95/report.html
Predicted increase in STEM employment - https://careersmart.org.uk/industries/stem/employment-growth-stem-occupations
HESA-backed report into role of women in STEM workforce - https://www.stemwomen.com/women-in-stem-statistics-progress-and-challenges
Imaging the Herculaneum scrolls: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5031465/
Identifying the first letters on the scrolls: https://scrollprize.org/firstletters