STEM Education

 

PSC introduces many of the skills required for 21st century careers. Several of our programs for educators provide content material online as a resource for K-12 teachers.  Some also offer workshops (with Act 48 hours) on how to effectively use the materials.  For more information on incorporating these materials into a workshop or professional learning experience contact eotinfo@psc.edu.

Our program includes internships for undergraduates and K-12 STEM programs:

 

Internships for Undergraduates

Part of our mission is  to serve as a site for paid internships among students at CMU, University of Pittsburgh and other regional institutions of higher learning. In these internships, students carry out independent research projects under the tutelage of PSC experts. Scientific and technology fields addressed by student internships have included: biomedical science, public health, materials science and chemistry, physics and cosmology, energy, artificial intelligence, and big data/data analytics.

To see currently available internship opportunities, visit our careers page.

 

K-12 STEM Education

Preparing young people for tomorrow’s STEM careers is a matter of urgency. PSC has used its resources strategically, leveraging its fields of expertise to address areas of critical need in STEM education. BEST, GCode and the Data Jam, described below, are three STEM areas we address.

BEST

STEM Topic: Bioinformatics / Computational Biology

In 2009, PSC introduced BEST, a program that enables high school teachers to introduce their students tothe field of computational biology. BEST offers a flexible curriculum as a full course or as part of advancedor AP biology classes; a toolkit of online computational biology materials; and annual summer institutes forteachers.

GCode

STEM Topic: Introduction to Coding

In STEM, there is a critical need to recruit the talents of all our young people and also create economicopportunities for underrepresented groups. In 2016, PSC established Project GCode as a way to introducegirls, particularly those of color, to key programming concepts in a way that engages them, builds theirinterest in continuing their education and introduces them to career opportunities in related technologyfields.

Data Jam

STEM Topic: Big Data and Data Science

In 2014 PSC and its partners at Pittsburgh DataWorks founded the Pittsburgh Data Jam, a high school competition to introduce students to data science and data analytics. Data Jam involves solving city-centric problems using Big Data under the mentorship of volunteers from PSC, IBM and CMU. Over the last five years, the Data Jam has reached 531 students and 23 teachers in 16 schools, undertaking 86 projects.