Abstract:

The promotion of STEM/STEAM disciplines has been a relevant topic within education, industry and scientific stakeholders, indicating a clear need to incorporate a relevant number of scientists and engineers in future workforces [1,2]. Multiple studies show that the situation is particularly outstanding in the case of career options of young women, with lower adoption of STEM studies [3].

Being aware of this situation, multiple initiatives have been implemented to promote STEM/STEAM disciplines [1,2],[4]. Among these, one of the most interesting is direct interaction with prospective high school and vocational students. This work presents the implementation of periodic interactive workshops, in order to present and attract future students as well as to present to teachers and parents the offer of STEM oriented university degrees offered at the Universidad Pública de Navarra.

The Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNA) is a public funded university established within the region of Navarra, Spain. UPNA is structured in 5 Schools/Faculties and 11 Departments. Among these the Technical Industrial and Telecommunication Engineering School (ETSIIT) is responsible for the supervision of undergraduate and graduate studies in the fields of Telecommunication Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Informatic/Computer Engieering [5]. In order to promote undergraduate studies, different workshops have been designed and provided, open to the general public. In the specific case of Telecommunication Engineering degree, these activities have been held since 2009, in which different presentations are given, providing information from the ETSIIT, Professional Engineering Societies and professional engineers.

To increase workshop outreach, since 2017 activities were modified, including a lab tour and hand-on lab experiments, allowing prospective students to gain insight in future topics dealing with Telecommunication Engineering curricula. In this way, the tour is planned to visit 3 laboratories and provide experimental setups in each one. The labs are periodically selected to provide a general overview along different workshop editions, among the following: Optical Communications &Sensors, Antenna & Microwave Laboratory, Advanced Electronics Laboratory, Signal Processing Laboratory and Telematics Engineering Laboratory. Different activities are engaged, such as:
-Biomedical Signal processing
-Optical Communication systems and sensors
-Advanced Electronic design
-Wireless communication systems

For each activity, comprehensive practice scripts and multimedia presentations where prepared, introducing underlying physical/mathematical concepts, their application in real life and the specific lab goals. Qualitative assessment from prospective students, high school teachers and parents have been obtained, providing positive results.

References:
[1] National Science & Technology Council, Charting a Course for Success:America’s Strategy for Stem Education, December 2018
[2] European Schoolnet, STEM initaitives and strategies, http://www.eun.org/es/focus-areas/stem
[3] Geoff Potvin, et al, “Gendered Interests in Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering: Intersections With Career Outcome Expectations”, IEEE Transactions On Education, Vol. 61, No. 4, p. 298-304, November 2018
[4] STEM Initiative, Asia Society: https://asiasociety.org/education/stem
[5] ETSIIT Course Information, UPNA: http://www.unavarra.es/ets-industrialesytelecos/studies/degree?languageId=1

Keywords:

STEM, High School Students, Engineering Degrees, Interactive Promotion.