STEMKonek

A mentorship portal that provides learners access to mentors and curated resources towards sustained interest and improved confidence in STEM

Across the years, the Philippine STEM ecosystem has faced various challenges – the insufficiency of adequate, accessible, and contextual STEM resources; the scarcity of role models and mentors in STEM; a perceived lack of relevance and awareness on STEM careers; and a growing interest yet lack of confidence in STEM. These challenges were exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic; hence the need to explore ways that would help learners navigate through this major disruption.

Maximizing the influx of EdTech, STEMKonek is an educational technology platform that serves as a mentorship and resource center where students can connect with mentors who specialize in different fields of STEM, all while freely accessing educational and inspirational resources on the STEM. This brings together resources that are accessible on-demand, reflective of local contexts, curated according to the curriculum, and specialized to focus on STEM.

Building on the team’s experience to build a digital STEM ecosystem across the government, industries, and education sectors, the platform inculcates the need for 21st-century skills which can be offered directly from professionals and their experiences on field. While a relatively novel concept in the Philippine arena, STEMKonek’s Online Mentoring Program highlights the advantage of mentoring over tutoring – whereas the latter would refer only to academic-related topics, the former offers a more holistic approach in nurturing the future workforce.

As such, the platform can be socially marketed to engage other like-minded stakeholders who could support the promotion of STEM to a broader set of learners across the country.

In the Philippines, there is a continuous decrease in the uptake of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and career among the youth.

A recently conducted Youth in STEM study in 2020 by STEM+PH, Student Edge, and PBCWE cited various apparent reasons for this decreased uptake: from the lack of interest in STEM to the lack of awareness of the diversity of STEM careers. These, however, are attributed more deeply to learners’ lack of confidence in the field – both in their perceived incapability to excel in STEM and in its lack of relevance to their dream careers.

Particular to Filipino learners, the study revealed that only 34% of Grades 9-10 students are interested in STEM-related subjects. While many Filipino students have a good understanding of STEM, 61% of respondents felt that STEM subjects were not related to their career choice as they mostly associate STEM careers to either engineering or medicine only.

The study also showed that Filipino students are driven by their personal interests, skills, and abilities in their subject and career decisions; and these are further strengthened by the influence of role models or professionals in the chosen field.

A common denominator in students’ lack of confidence in themselves and in the field is the lack of Filipino STEM role models. The challenge now is in finding innovative platforms that can spark and sustain their interest in STEM by not only curating content and resources but more so, providing information and access to local STEM professionals.

STEMKonek targets Filipino students from Grades 9-12, whether interested or are already in the STEM track. In the Philippines, these are the years that prepare them in determining their career path. Directed primarily towards learners in public schools and underperforming learners, the platform’s content is structured to be supplemental yet still aligned with the government-mandated curriculum. Highlighting the vital role of role models for learners, the platform also targets professionals and leaders in STEM to better connect these underserved learners to mentors or active supporters in the mission and advocacy.  

It’s important for the youth to be made aware of the various careers and opportunities that STEM has to offer to them; and this is the value that STEMKonek provides – through Filipino role models in STEM, learners are made aware of the diversity of opportunities in the field. 

Based on ongoing social media campaigns and findings from our Youth in STEM report, there is evident demand for role models and emerging STEM fields such as science communication, data science, digital citizenship. These are the bases for the learning areas and topics in our STEMKonek programs.  

Moreover, we plan to adapt a gamification strategy which uses various activities and rewards to promote continued student engagement. Deep-rooted in the motivational framework of experiential learning, gamification leverages on various elements and characteristics of gaming culture. The goal is to maximize enjoyment and engagement through capturing the interest of learners and inspiring them to continue learning. 

To contribute to improving the access of underserved learners to STEM, the EdTech platform will be offering STEM resources that students can access anytime, anywhere, for free. The intertwining value of a resource and mentoring portal onto one platform elevates impact for learners. Not only are learners provided with curated and relevant content in the resource portal but also, they are exposed to experiential learning through the mentoring program.

Through STEMKonek, learners gain access to a pool of mentors across the STEM field where they acquire practical insights from professionals. Deriving from the insights of the 2020 Youth in STEM study, the youth’s career and subject interest are highly influenced by role models and professionals in the field; hence the approach towards tapping the program’s network of local STEM professionals to be directly linked with a pool of mentees.

Moreover, STEMKonek’s resource library is equipped to have content that is aligned with the  government-mandated curriculum and most essential learning competencies (MELCs). While supplemental, the content on the platform is targeted primarily to spark and sustain interest in STEM that potentially leads towards improvement of STEM literacy levels.

In the Philippines, it can be said that EdTech platforms is yet to become the go-to in learning delivery which is why STEMKonek’s hybrid nature of a resource and mentoring portal allows for the country to go beyond traditional learning setups.

The Team Lead for STEMKonek is Isabel Monasterio, the Assistant Program Manager from STEM+PH of Unilab Foundation. 

STEMKonek is one of the only EdTech platforms in the country that solely focuses on STEM mentorship, where other platforms focus more on education as a whole. Unique to the mentoring program is its co-development approach wherein both the mentor and the mentee will discuss and agree on the learning path and goals.

STEMKonek will also implement an interactive and engaging strategy to acquire insights on the users and sustain their interest for both STEM and the platform. This will be done through an Impact Kit, which will facilitate the journey of each user by rewarding actions that set them further along the path to their potential.

The student journey on the portal is directed towards building their self-awareness as they explore the platform more. Students come across the platform and discover what it has to offer. Then, the continued engagement of users leads to a better understanding of their potential and paths; and upon having these realized, they act on them and translate these to experiences.

There is a need to support STEM education considering the significant changes and challenges that were brought about by the pandemic. Apart from decreased learner engagement, varying perspectives and attitudes towards STEM, and gaps between curriculum and industry needs, the pandemic has emphasized the need to transition towards new ways of working while maintaining a clear line of sight towards integrated STEM education. Now more than ever, STEM-based solutions matter in such major disruption.   

STEM+PH offers this through the development of an educational platform for learners that provides access to a variety of relevant STEM resources and opportunities, as well as  initiatives that they can take part in.  The main objective of this project is for students to become more informed while remaining interested and motivated to pursue STEM and at the same time, create a supportive STEM community that encourages them to do so. With the growing demand of STEM careers, this means reskilling and upskilling individuals, and preparing the youth for these changes. 

To achieve this, STEM+PH shall:

• Provide access to an online resource platform that consolidates and curates resources and opportunities in a structured, intuitive, user-friendly and fun way; and 
• Develop, curate, and consolidate specialized STEM content that not only informs but also creates opportunities for productive STEM careers. 

Target Output

The EdTech platform will serve as a mentorship and resource center where students can connect with mentors who specialize in different fields of STEM, and at the same time, freely access educational and inspirational resources on the STEM track, such as articles, videos, podcasts, and stories. This brings together resources that are accessible on-demand, reflective of local contexts, curated according to the curriculum, and specialized to focus on STEM. 

Target Outcome

Launching this EdTech platform would result to students becoming more informed of the diversity of STEM learning and career opportunities, while remaining interested and motivated to pursue STEM. At the same time, this platform builds a supportive STEM community that encourages learners to do so.

The project will be monitored and evaluated through tracking specific metrics and analytics on a quarterly basis. While metrics are data points, analytics involve taking these data to draw conclusions and insights for the purpose of improving content and user experience. The team will look into social impact assessment tools that integrate both quantitative and qualitative data to be translated into a more comprehensive evaluation of the platform and the program. These include data from the following features: 

• Resources accessed – to determine what category of materials appeal to audience and have higher likelihood of utilization  
• Users’ journey across the platform – to see how they progress across time. For example, they may be exploring resources at a certain period, events the next, then mentors and, later on, career opportunities 
• Mentorship program sign-ups within a particular period – to determine the number of users of the platform vis-à-vis the number of students who completed a mentorship program 
• Learning progress and outcomes from mentoring program – by measuring the achievement of Learning and Development Goals set by mentees and mentors and the program’s effectivity in influencing STEM interest and awareness 

In terms of evaluation, the project employs international principles and standards for development co-operation under the OECD-DAC Evaluation criteria, i.e. Relevance, Efficiency, Effectiveness, Sustainability, Innovation and Coherence or REESIC.

The end goal is to improve learning outcomes for Filipino learners by transforming learning delivery and interaction. Through this platform, we aim to provide access to resources to motivate and encourage Filipino students towards pursuing the STEM track. 

The previously mentioned Impact Kit is the program’s primary tool to track the development of learners’ awareness, interest, and perceptions in STEM. These involve 1) outlining a set of relevant quantitative and qualitative indicators, and 2) developing data gathering/research methodologies and plans. We aim to measure an increase in learners’ awareness and interest in STEM careers and opportunities through the following indicators: 

Direct and indirect reach – determined by the number of users accessing the platform, number of views and redirected visits to and from the program’s other channels, and estimates of indirect reach which apply to secondary and tertiary audience of the platform 

Impact – determined by in-platform surveys and program evaluation forms which outlines how this project has contributed to expanding the pool of learners who take the STEM track and eventually pursue STEM-related careers. ‘Impact’ will cover questions like:

• How has this platform affected your interest in STEM?
• How has this platform influenced your confidence to pursue STEM?
• How has this platform prepared you to pursue higher STEM education?
• How did this platform support you in laying down a STEM-related career path?
• To what extent has this platform met your needs expectations?

Apart from the lack of reliable internet connectivity in the Philippines, another foreseen challenge is promoting and conducting the activities to reach remote communities with limited access to internet connection upon project scale up.  

Unilab Foundation is a corporate foundation that aims to build a healthier Philippines by developing programs that enable access to health, education, and opportunity. One of its flagship programs is STEM+ PH, the main proponent of this solution.  

STEM+PH aims to cultivate an enabling environment to strengthen STEM education in the country through learner engagement, educator empowerment, and Government-Industry-Education alliance. 

Realizing the challenges in the education sector that were exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic in 2020, the STEM+PH team continues to adapt and address the current and emerging needs to nurture STEM learners and innovators.  

Strategic implementation of the program involves 1) government partner engagement which entails constantly engaging with key government counterparts, monitoring developments and trends in policy and governance, 2) Industry and private sector engagement which focuses on monitoring trends in the industry and private sector to identify relevant opportunities, 3)  Communication and Community Engagement which refers to formulating meaningful substance that aligns with priorities identified by the program in the light of its government and industry engagement, and 4) Research and technical framework which will be used as a springboard for engaging with various program stakeholders.  

Building on the already existing activities on learner engagement and empowerment, and further workforce development, STEM+PH will pilot the development of an online educational technology platform that brings together resources that are 1) accessible on-demand 2) reflective of local contexts 3) curated according to the curriculum, 4) and specialized to focus on STEM.  

The team is composed of 6 members, where each have specific roles involved in the platform’s development, scalability and management, monitoring, and communications and advocacy. The team is also engaging with a web development provider and a technical advisor to ensure the smooth functioning of all technical operations.

The team is well-positioned to deliver this solution? as its combined experience and expertise cover the following areas that are critical in the successful implementation of STEMKonek: 

• Government partner engagement – This is a crucial patch since everything that the program is doing deeply takes into account government priorities and directions. This entails constantly engaging with key government counterparts, monitoring developments and trends in policy and governance as well as in delivery of government programs.  
• Industry and private sector engagement – Trends in the industry and private sector are monitored so that the program could identify relevant priorities and opportunities to pursue. Part of the task is to scope opportunities for leveraging resources.   
• Communication and Community Engagement – Beyond looking at the ‘form’, this is also about formulating meaningful substance that aligns with priorities identified by the program in the light of its government and industry engagement.   
• Research and technical framework – The program’s work will need to be supported by sound evidence and a well-articulated framework which will be used as a springboard for engaging with various program stakeholders. 
• Program Management, Development, Quality and Alignment – This will pull together the above-mentioned areas into a coherent direction. This also involves ensuring quality in the delivery as well as deciding on future directions and opportunities that will be pursued.   

The team lead has prior experience working for an educational technology start-up in the Philippines. She led an advocacy campaign under Edukasyon.ph and Investing in Women from 2018 to 2019 – capitalizing on learning, results, networks, and partnerships to build awareness and understanding of the importance of women’s economic empowerment and practical means to make progress. As a core part of this partnership, she executed the launch of career expos and Career Awareness and Readiness workshops in public and private schools in NCR, Cebu, and Mindanao delivering career advice and opportunities to young Filipinas.  

 
To further scale this advocacy and support young women's non-traditional career paths in STEM, she partnered with the Philippine Business Coalition of Women Empowerment (PBCWE) to create an internships portal that provided industry linkages to Senior High School students in the STEM track. 

She is currently the program lead of STEM+PH where she provides oversight and implementation of projects in communications advocacy, women in STEM, and STEM Leadership Alliance that seek to convene and collaborate with industry leaders, educators, government, development partners, non-profit organizations, and corporate foundations committed to help strengthen integrated STEM education in the Philippines.  

STEM+PH has collaborated with different sectors over the years in building connections with like-minded organizations to co-create and co-design programs.

For our Catalytic Internship Program, we partnered with public and private high schools for their students to be mentored by experts and scientists. Through the program, educators aligned their curriculum with industry standards, made education relevant and valuable for students while establishing strong partnerships and support from various industries.

Our STEM Leadership Alliance – Philippines arm brings together government agencies, industries, and educational institutions towards a future-ready workforce. We work with industry leaders for their employees to participate as STEMKonek mentors. Strategic scaleup of the platform involves integrating STEMKonek as part of companies’ CSR and employee engagement efforts. The organization is also in close partnership with MIT-JWEL  for our Global Development Alliance proposal on quality education as they provide technical inputs for innovative training models.

Besides role models and industry experts, STEM+PH also supports youth organizations by becoming their partners in their events related to the STEM advocacy.

The team saw an opportunity to strengthen our engagement with partners by inviting these industry leaders, role models, students, and teachers to share their journeys and take part in our advocacy.

Part of our commitment to improving STEM education is to invest in tools to develop the skills of the youth as well as their access to opportunities. Although mentorship is an existing tool for learning in the Philippines, it is not well-implemented and is seldomly utilized through technology. Given that we are a foundation and are only starting to explore educational technology platforms, we would greatly benefit from the expertise of mentors, social entrepreneurs, and experts to provide direction and guidance in developing and enhancing STEMKonek, while measuring and scaling our impact. These experts can also provide advice on how we can best deliver our mentorship program to ensure that the platform’s features cater to underserved communities with low connectivity and resources. By tapping into their network and gaining their support in building our impact, we also see this as an opportunity to present innovative ways of learning in the Philippines. 

Moreover, the funding that will be awarded can be used to enhance its hybrid approach of delivering the mentoring program online and offline, and create supplemental educational materials. There is a need to connect learners with resources that will continue to increase their overall interest in STEM, which can be done by distributing low-cost videos and downloadable content for offline reading to ensure we reach more communities outside Metro Manila.  

We want to keep all our services and content free for all students, but in order to sustain this and at the same time scale our products and services, the team would need various income-generating streams.  

Partnerships are needed to identify additional resources such as linkages, scholarships, internship or mentorship opportunities. For us to do this, we would need technical guidance and a business lens on possible additional features and content that would engage partners and other stakeholders for support and funding.  

Similarly, the team would need advice on how we can best apply a gamification strategy on which we plan to utilize various activities and rewards to promote continued student engagement, as well as utilize this as a resource stream for industry partners.  

Furthermore, throughout the implementation of STEMKonek, the team recognizes the need for a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation tool for a more in-depth analysis of the program’s impact.