By Enyeribe Ejiogu
Specialised educational training organisation, Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Innovation (STEMi) Makers of Africa has gone into partnership with the United States Embassy in Gaborone, Botswana, to train educators under its e-STEM Integration and Development project.
At the end of the project, educators and over 8,200 students will showcase their e-STEM project exhibitions and be rewarded.
STEMi Makers of Africa, an African tech-based organisation, made this known in Lagos to journalists in a statement.
Executive Director of STEMi Makers of Africa, Amanda Obidike, stated that the organisation which has executed many projects in 19 African countries, currently has offices in seven African countries and is registered in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Obidike said that the project is designed to improve teaching competencies and consequently increase retention of talents’ participation in climate solutions through physical computing, robotics, and project-based learning activities aligned to environmental thematic areas in the Kweneng district of Botswana.
“Educators will be trained, mentored and provided quality STEM resource tools and kits to accelerate project-based learning, critical thinking, creativity, and innovation.
“We are building the next generation of educators in Botswana who will serve as role models in enhancing students’ interest and competitiveness in STEM careers and the green economy,” she said.
The project kicked off this December with an extensive blend of technical training, mentorship, assessments of the schools, educators and students in Botswana.
The STEMi boss added that these projects will be aligned to six thematic areas: sustainability and environmental stewardship, powering communities, cyber-technology and security, biodiversity and extinction, green food nutrition and consumption, and sustainable transportation campaign.
Country Coordinator for STEMi Makers of Africa in Botswana, Kelebogile Dennis Masina, said that the project is the first of its kind in Botswana and that the partnership is a year-long project aimed to upskill 100 educators and 550 indirect educators from the Kweneng District of Botswana into a world-class STEM workforce for Botswana’s economy.
Masina said the e-STEM Integration and Development training of mid-level educators in Botswana will be an immersive hands-on training on physical computing, coding and robotics, drone technologies, IOT, AR/VR, AI, 3D printing and hardware engineering, and prototyping.