Los Angeles wins bid for 2017 STEMfest

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Global STEM States today announced that Los Angeles has secured the rights to host the 4th International Festival of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEMfest

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Global STEM States today announced that Los Angeles has secured the rights to host the 4th International Festival of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEMfest) in 2017. This festival of up to 13 conferences and 15 community event will see delegations from an estimated 55 countries.

The rights to host the event were secured following a competitive international bid process which was led by the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board on behalf of the city.

S.T.E.M. refers to the cross curricula education practice that integrates Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), as well as the arts in many activities (STEAM).

The International STEMfest is a festival of conferences and events which take place over one week, all aimed at exploring ways in which education can be better aligned to a state’s future skills needs and economic development targets.

“The 2017 International STEMfest will bring the world’s STEM community to Los Angeles for more than a week and will allow for transnational collaboration on STEM projects that impact us all such as climate change, food security, trade, defence and more,“ said David Goncalves, Executive Director of the Australian Headquartered Global STEM States, a not-for-profit international association. “The biggest impact of the International STEMfest is it brings varying STEM groups from within a city together, allowing them to focus on one project as well as to talk with the international community to establish global partnerships for research, trade and more. The event is not intended to create something new, but rather look at everyone’s existing projects and allow them to use the event to come together and take their projects a step forward into the international community,” Goncalves continued.

The International STEMfest is held in a different destination each year, with the inaugural event held in Malaysia in 2013. This event saw more than 1200 delegates from 55 countries visit the destination and led to many legacies, including the eventual introduction of a national STEM Curriculum which included high profile delegates from Ministers of Education to industry leaders from U.S. companies such as Boeing and Microsoft. The next event will be in Canada in 2015, followed by Australia in 2016.

During the International STEMfest 2017 in Los Angeles a series of up to 15 conferences will take place from different industries and sectors, such as education, renewable energy, safety, space research, biotechnology and others. Each conference will explore their role in STEM and “Skilling a Nation’s Future” and will contribute to what will be known as the International STEMfest 2017 Declaration on STEM Education, Innovation and Alignment with Industry Needs.

In addition, each conference will have tangible outcomes which are directly aligned to both the city and state’s strategic plans.

Whilst the city’s educational and professional communities attend conferences, students and the public will also be invited to participate in a wide range of community events, including the STEMfest GameJam, the Ride2Learn Around the World By Cycle Adventure – which welcomes two science teachers who are riding around the world on bicycles – and the STEMfest Engagement with Schools Day, where international speakers visit local schools (grades 3 to 12) to provide internationally focused STEM activities such as fun educational sessions. More than 1,500 delegates are expected to attend and tens of thousands of students and educators will view the event through webcasting in Asia and beyond.

Past events have included directors from international organizations such as UNESCO and the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization. A career day will also be offered for students interested in exploring possible future opportunities.

A delegation of International Association Presidents from around the world have been in Los Angeles meeting with local representatives.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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