We live in an age of digital technology and innovation. The amount of the second seems to grow exponentially, as does the demand for specialists who create and develop innovations. This has sparked a surge in the popularity of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education around the world, as well as in Ukraine. At Noosphere, we strive to apply the concept of STEM education and create favorable conditions for enhancing the engineering ecosystem in Ukraine.
STEM envisions a combination of creativity and technical knowledge. The student is essential to learning, and practical tasks must be solved. Therefore, students not only study theory but also gain practical skills. Together with mentors, they apply theoretical knowledge in practice and learn to use it for public benefit. The STEM concept allows youth to develop flexibility and critical, practice oriented thinking. It nurtures the ability to learn quickly and adapt to a rapidly changing world.
Noosphere’s ecosystem allows everyone to share knowledge, improve skills and work on developing advanced innovations. Every year we hold over 40 initiatives drawing engineers, scientists, inventors and other technology enthusiasts from different parts of Ukraine and around the globe.
Noosphere is eager to instil a love of technologies and innovations from a very young age. Some of our initiatives are only for the youngest makers and innovators. For example, the BestRoboFest robotics festival, where kids and teenagers participate in different types of robotics competition, or the Noosphere Engineering Race – first in Ukraine robotics competitions based on the American VEX construction. Other initiatives supported by Noosphere are organized for students who want to unleash their potential and develop their own innovative projects. Among them are innovative tournaments for rocketry fans Star Track, Dnipro local stages for NASA Space Apps Challenge and ActInSpace, global space hackathons. We also hold Vernadsky Challenge, a unique engineering startup competition in Ukraine for innovators just starting their journey to success.
Driven by our goals, in 2015 we launched Noosphere Engineering School, a network of innovative laboratories based at leading universities in Ukraine. Noosphere Engineering School embodies the principles of STEM education in Ukraine. Over the course of 5 years, we have opened 7 scientific and technical labs in 5 Ukrainian cities. The School’s team includes over 20 technical experts. Together with the students, they have developed more than 60 innovative projects.
Association Noosphere also participates in various themed projects and collaborates with other organizations to promote engineering among youth. At the end of October, we participated in the “Professional vacation”, a joint project between PR-agency “PRoector” and foreign education agency “CO.ED”. As part of the project, Noosphere presented a lecture on the engineering profession to high school students from the city of Dnipro. Together with the students, we discovered why engineering is popular today and why it is cool to be an engineer. We also talked about successful projects developed at Noosphere Engineering School and, of course, invited them to try their hand at engineering.