As California’s largest public university, the CSU produces half of the state’s bachelor’s degrees. The CSU is the state’s largest supplier of engineers and is the leading supplier of top-tier talent to California’s renowned high-tech companies including Apple, Google and Microsoft. In order to continue to meet the state’s workforce needs for tomorrow and beyond, we must ensure that students are not only pursuing STEM education but that they also have the support and tools needed to be successful, earn a college degree and ultimately pursue a career in STEM.
In 2018 the CSU launched STEM-NET to better enable faculty to share campus best practices and produce scholarship and advancements that power California’s future. CSU recognizes that STEM research and education is critical to the future of our communities, our state and our nation. Today’s students must have a strong foundation in STEM to meet tomorrow’s workforce needs and the needs of California’s innovation economy.
Student involvement in directed research is critical. Students must be engaged in research, scholarship and other creative activities in order to learn teamwork and problem solving while also gaining the technical skills required to be successful in their future studies and careers.
Equally important is how we take steps to close equity gaps in STEM education. Students from historically underserved communities are underrepresented in STEM fields, and work will support the Graduation Initiative 2025 efforts to eliminate equity gaps among all students.
It is also essential to ignite students’ passion for STEM before they get to college. The CSU produces more than 1,500 K-12 STEM teachers annually – the most of any institution in the country. STEM NET will help open up pathways for even more CSU students to become STEM teachers.
California Workforce
