Wareham, Bayer among Sponsors of East Bay STEM Career Awareness Day

This Thursday, April 27th more than 300 students from high schools in Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, and Richmond will descend on West Berkeley to participate in the 6th Annual East Bay STEM Career Awareness Day. Industry, academia, and local government have joined forces to inspire young people from under-served communities to pursue science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) majors at community and four-year colleges. Opening remarks will be provided by Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín and Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson.

“This day gives our students a wonderful opportunity to explore a number of exciting types of careers and work that could shift their interests, and the direction of their lives, in a very positive way,” noted Emery USD Superintendent Dr. John Rubio.

Each student will visit two work sites in West Berkeley and more than 100 STEM professionals will serve as career mentors for the day. Tours at 15 companies will provide participants with hands-on science and innovation activities – and the opportunity to imagine themselves in these exciting careers.

Organizers aim to help address the growing STEM workforce gap. While California ranks first in the nation in the total number of entry-level STEM positions available, the state is underperforming in the rate of bachelor’s degree completions in popular STEM fields. California ranks 38th in computer science and 37th in engineering.

The East Bay STEM Career Awareness Day is designed to inspire high school students to pursue careers in STEM fields which boast strong job prospects and offer pay that is, on average, 26% more than non-STEM jobs.

Companies taking part include leading research enterprises like Bayer, Siemens, Aduro Biotech, Caribou Biosciences, Dynavax and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Businesses which combine art, technology and design are also participating: Avid Technologies, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley Mills and architecture firms Kava Massih, Noll & Tam, and WLC.

STEM Career Awareness Day springs from an original collaboration between Bayer and the City of Berkeley and has grown to include leadership from the Institute for STEM Education at CSU East Bay, Wareham Development, and the East Bay Economic Development Alliance. It is part of a larger regional effort to connect underserved youth with growing STEM workforce opportunities in the area.

Additional sponsorship provided by The Institute for STEM Education at CSUEB, Aduro Biotech, Avid Technology, Caribou Biosciences, Fantasy Studios and more.

Details of the Event:

WHEN: Thursday, April 27, 2017, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
OPENING REMARKS: 9:30 – 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Aquatic Park Center
717 Potter Street, Berkeley, CA 94710

Learn more about the program at InstituteForStemEd.com

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