A Brighter Future through STEM Education

SAMSUNG2_BlogAs parents, you want your kids to excel in school so they have the best opportunity to lead happy, successful lives. I believe enjoying a career in a field you’re interested in can be a big part of such a life.

Career opportunities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) are vast, yet the number of people qualified to take advantage of them are not. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 1.4 million tech jobs will be available in the United States by 2020, and U.S. graduates will only be able to fill about one-third at current graduation rates.

By promoting STEM education, we not only help bolster the economy, but also brighten the future of our children. Parents play a critical role in sparking interest in the sciences in their children. That was certainly the case when my parents gave me a chemistry set for Christmas when I was about 10 years old. I spent countless hours experimenting with different chemicals to see what would happen. I was especially fascinated by the different colors I was able to unleash from my experiments. It was just so much fun!

Thanks to my parents’ encouragement, that childhood interest led me to pursue STEM studies in school.  That led to a Ph.D. in physics, and then to a career at the world’s leading technology company.  Parents like you, across the country, are the ones who can affect real change both inside and outside the classroom—from hosting field trips to the neighborhood science museum to active involvement in the local PTA.

At Samsung, we recognize our responsibility to spark enthusiasm for STEM education. We certainly have a stake in ensuring a vibrant talent pool from which we can draw upon.  In 2010, we launched a program called Solve for Tomorrow, which is designed to make STEM learning fun and interesting for kids while encouraging them to think about the world around them.

In addition to helping students build STEM skills, the program challenges them to apply those skills to help solve a real-life problem in their community.  It truly engages students beyond the traditional classroom and has benefitted more than 500 public schools across America in just three years. This year alone, we will award more than $2 million in technology to schools in every state across the country.

We ask you to let your children’s teachers know about the competition.  Not only could they benefit from winning technology for their school, but students will learn how STEM tools can help them improve the community around them.

To learn more about the competition, please visit www.samsung.com/solve.  The registration deadline is October 31, 2013.


Dr. David Steel is the Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics North America.

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