The National Institute for Women in Trades, Technology & Sciences (IWITTS) is hosting an online seminar called the STEM Success for Women Telesummit this week April 24 through April 26 (and last week, April 17-19).

The conference features 15 top expert practitioners and educators who have successfully recruited and retained female and underserved students in STEM and CTE programs, sharing their step-by-step *recipes* for how they achieved this. The event is free and registration information is here.

Donna Milgram, executive director for IWITTS, reminds potential attendees, “Don’t worry if you can’t make all of the sessions. When you register for the Telesummit, you get access to the recordings and written transcripts of every session.”

While TEAMM focuses on Additive Manufacturing and Materials Science, many of the grants and projects fall under the broader STEM focus. The telesummit opening session “Recruitment: Infusing Joy into STEM” attracted our attention because Mark Evans, an Instructor and Program Chair of Emerging Technologies at Athens Technical College in Athens, Georgia uses 3D printing (among other methods/technology) in his Emerging Technology program.

“We do a lot with 3D modeling and 3D printing. In fact our intro course EMTX 1000: Tech-Driven Problem Solving relies heavily on the students learning Blendr and then making models they will then print on our 3D printers here at Athens Technical College. I worked closely with Carol Stanley, the college librarian to create a space called the “TecKnOWL0gy” NEST (specific OWL spelling intentional; see below for more on the Nest).”

You can read the full speaker schedule and STEM session abstracts here in PDF form.

The program bulletin describes Mark Evan’s session: “How He Boosted Female Enrollment in Emerging Technology from 6% to 82%. He went from only 1 female student to 15 in his Emerging Technology class the very next semester. In Fall 2016, Athens Tech awarded nearly half of the forty-three certificates in Video Game Design & Development to women. Learn how Mark used drones and Sphero robots along with other fun strategies to engage prospective students.”

According to the Athens Technical College website, the Nest is: a lab and development space with software and equipment supporting 3D printing, multimedia design, mobile and game development, video production, coding/programming, electronics, and other technology. The “Nest” provides current students, faculty, and staff a safe space to learn and explore these technologies. The purpose of it is to support and enhance learning by sparking students’ interest in emerging technologies. The name ties in “technology,” “know,” and “owl”—the college mascot. “Nest” gives students a safe space to learn and explore.

Don’t miss signing up for the second half of the STEM Success for Women Telesummit.