{"id":6000,"date":"2022-11-08T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-08T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waters.com\/blog\/?p=6000"},"modified":"2022-11-03T22:22:58","modified_gmt":"2022-11-03T22:22:58","slug":"celebrating-national-stem-day-with-year-round-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waters.com\/blog\/celebrating-national-stem-day-with-year-round-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating National STEM Day with Year-Round Activities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the pace of innovation today, it\u2019s no surprise that careers within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) are growing faster than any other category. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2019\u201329 employment projections show that occupations in STEM fields are expected to grow 8% by 2029, compared with 3.7% for all occupations. This expected growth creates an opportunity to build awareness of STEM roles to the next generation of workers.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On November 8 each year, National STEM Day is celebrated, encouraging children to explore interests in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math through fun and engaging play. The holiday was introduced in 2015 by a toy company promoting a new line of female characters who are skilled spies for an organization known as NOV8 (pronounced \u201cinnovate\u201d), who use STEM to solve problems as a team. The adoption of this annual holiday to many school calendars supports efforts to inspire school-aged children to pursue interests in STEM topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this may be recognized as a US-based holiday, Waters supports year-round initiatives around the world to help drive student awareness, access, and engagement in STEM fields. Here are a few examples of how Waters is working in the community to unlock the potential of science, and the potential within our future STEM workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waters signature STEM immersion program<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Waters Student Academy, high school students participate in a 5-week immersion program over the summer to learn more about Waters and the work done in different departments at the company. Students engage in hands-on activities including lab experiments and equipment service, learn about manufacturing technologies like robots and lasers, meet with mentors weekly and have a 1:1 meeting with our CEO. By the end of their summer at Waters Student Academy, students will have a better understanding of STEM career paths that may interest them in the future, as well as what steps others took to get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"students<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"waters<\/figure>\n
(L): At a chemistry fair hosted during the Waters Student Academy this summer, students perform an experiment. (R): The 2022 Waters Student Academy cohort with Waters CEO & President Dr. Udit Batra.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n