Attivio Talks to STEM Education Students About AI

Attivio was recently given the opportunity to participate in a STEM education program, aimed at educating students all over the world on the topic of Artificial Intelligence. Ray Lau, our Chief Architect, and Rajiv Narula, our Director of Software Development, presented on the importance of STEM education and use cases for Artificial Intelligence. The online learning community was built of students from the US, Mexico, Ukraine, and Netherlands.

The Global STEM Education Center, Inc, is a (501) (C) (3) non-profit corporation headquartered in Massachusetts. Their mission is to bring together educators, K-20 students, and corporate partners, like Attivio, to increase participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to meet the needs of an innovation-driven, globally competitive workforce. The program partners with and gets funding from public schools but looks to companies, like Attivio, to present to students on the importance of STEM education, and the latest and greatest in the tech space.

I spoke with Larisa Schelkin, the CEO, President, & Founder of the Global STEM Education Center, Inc. about the program, and how companies can support the center’s efforts to help build a stronger science and technology focused workforce for the future.

Tell us about the program & what makes it special:

The Global STEM Education Center is a non-profit that was formed in 2007 and has since stayed intentionally small to ensure our curriculum is somewhat of an “innovation lab”. We develop state-of-the-art programs that address equity, STEM careers, innovations in STEM and global citizenship. The programs are piloted around the world and they not only teach STEM topics, but also teach participating students how to work in globally disperse, multicultural teams. The level of commitment required from students can range from a semester to multiple years depending on the school and level of interest.

A key way companies contribute to the global STEM program is by volunteering their time. How can they help and what topics are students most interested in learning about from volunteers?

STEM professionals can contribute in a variety of ways, including advising on Global STEM Education projects, introducing our educators and students to innovations in the world of STEM, and volunteering their time as virtual guest speakers. When presenting to the class, it is always helpful to hear about experiences working on global teams, and the importance of intercultural communication, global competency, and team-work skills.

Generally, the students are most interested in guest lecturer’s personal development stories. Details regarding how they chose their college, how they did in school, what they did when they were younger that impacted their success, etc. are appreciated most. They also love hearing about new and upcoming technologies, and which technologies are on their way to being considered “out of date.” 

Attivio’s Chief Architect, Ray Lau, presented to the classroom his personal journey and some key Artificial Intelligence topics. The feedback from teachers was overwhelmingly positive!

"Thank you Ray for sharing your valuable time and expertise with our Global STEM Classroom! You did a remarkable job in explaining and sharing concepts that require a deep understanding and experience in a simple, relatable way for the kids. I'm grateful for it and we'd love to hear from you and Attivio again in our projects. It does make a difference, especially when the students are learning from such passionate professionals like you! THANK YOU!! Best regards from Mexico"

-Ing. Raziel Cázares Rangel, Director de Tecnología Educativa, Instituto Neil Armstrong, San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico

"A BIG THANK YOU to Ray and to Attivio for an amazing presentation and for sharing a unique experience! The kids were at AWE with the presentation and your success story as they told me at the end of the class. It is a great role model for the students. We are wishing you the biggest success in your future work in this cutting-edge field. We hope to see you again in our Global STEM Classroom and we are interested to learn about your new successes in the future. Thank you!"

-Julia Sigalovsky, Ph.D. , Teacher: Chemistry, AP Chemistry, Physics, AP Physics, Global  STEM Program, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School

To learn more about how Attivio makes search intelligent with Artificial Intelligence, check out this blog post. For more information about the Global STEM Education program check out their website!