In January 2022, Wiline Pangle, PhD, a faculty member in the Department of Biology at Central Michigan University (CMU), collaborated with 14 of her colleagues to create an innovative new program aimed at equipping students with often overlooked yet essential skills needed in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) careers.
The CMU faculty ultimately designed the Integration of Science, Technology and Engineering (InSciTE) program, which connects theory with practical applications and promotes research, experimentation, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
“I know that the STEM employers are looking for students that can collaborate and work in diverse groups in a way that is cohesive and productive, [and] they want data management skills and time management skills, so what we did is separate the two and create a stand-alone certificate solely centered on skills,” Pangle says, noting that as a biology professor, it can be challenging to simultaneously teach both academic content and these vital career proficiencies.
Through five courses over four years, undergraduate participants work in teams to solve real-world STEM problems. Courses focus on building collaboration skills to identify challenges and solutions and to communicate across STEM fields, as well as on project management skills and a capstone research project.
Students choose their own topics, with the first cohort focusing on sustainability issues. Project examples include developing prototypes for a wind farm, a campus solar panel study room, and ways to minimize disposable plastics in health care.
“The program doesn’t have traditional lectures. There are no exams or text-books,” says Pangle. “It’s completely student driven. We support, we help, we guide.” The program is overseen by a faculty council with more than a dozen members representing fields from geography and environmental studies to physics and computer science.
This past year, the initiative ran as a pilot program with a cohort of 33 students, 67 percent of whom identify as historically marginalized in STEM. The program is recruiting for its second cohort and expects around 50 students, with the capacity to accommodate up to 75. Applicants are not required to submit standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, or other traditional application materials. Instead, they can apply in whatever format they choose, including through video or audio clips.
Pangle says the program’s ultimate goal is to not only give participants an edge careerwise but also to help them learn how to work with diverse colleagues and viewpoints.
“STEM fields are traditionally not inclusive. I know my first year of school, nobody sounded like me. Most did not look like me. You have that feeling in the pit of your stomach [and think] ‘Should I be here?’” says Pangle. “We are fighting that from the beginning, talking openly about things like imposter syndrome, empowering our students so that they can own this space and then bring that to other classes.”●
This article was published in our September 2023 issue.
