The Illinois Science and Technology Institute (ISTI) brought together students and teachers with industry, higher education and other key stakeholders at the Museum of Science and Industry to celebrate the conclusion of the R&D STEM Learning Exchange Challenge’s pilot year. More than 400 students and 20 teachers in 12 Illinois high schools partnered with experts at Motorola Solutions, Baxter International, The Greatest Good (TGG Group), IIT’s Institute for Food Safety and Health, and Northrop Grumman throughout the semester to solve complex real-world, problem-based STEM Challenge..

The R&D STEM Learning Exchange is part of Illinois Pathways, a $10.3 million initiative launched last year by Governor Quinn to better prepare students to compete in the global economy. In addition to support from the state, the STEM Challenge was made possible with funding support from Baxter, Motorola Solutions, Northrop Grumman and AT&T, as well as implementation support from the iBio Institute’s EDUCATE Center. The STEM Learning Exchanges are designed to coordinate investments, resources and planning for programs that empower youth and adults to explore academic and career interests in STEM fields. Some of the schools who participated were Chicago Vocational Career Academy, Insituto Health Sciences Career Academy (IHSCA), Lane Tech College Prep, and Wheeling High School, to name a few.

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Students from Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy display their solution for improving water quality in response to a public health challenge posed by Baxter International at the R&D STEM Learning Exchange Challenge student presentations on May 19 at the Museum of Science and Industry. © Illinois Science and Technology Institute