Stem Advocacy Institute
Other name | Science Advocacy Institute |
|---|---|
| Motto | Experiment. Build. Explore |
| Trustees | Nathan Vanderford, Jessica W. Tsai, Joe Keller, Fanuel Muindi and Prasha Sarwate Dutra |
| Type | Think Tank & Incubator |
| Established | 2014 |
| Founder | Fanuel Muindi |
| ADO | Claire Holesovsky |
| Location | Boston, MA, USA |
| Website | https://stemadvocacy.org |
The Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) Advocacy Institute (also known as the Science Advocacy Institute or SAi) is an American non-profit think tank and incubator founded in Boston, MA, USA in 2014.[1]
History[edit]
A series of letters published by Fanuel Muindi and Moytrayee Guha dating back to 2013 provided the initial spark for the organization. In one of those letters published by SciDev.Net in 2014,[2] Muindi and Guha argued for creating a global fund for STEM education and engagement initiatives that would help accelerate access, diversity, and inclusivity in STEM. Jessica W. Tsai and Joe B. Keller were recruited not long after to become the first members to join the organization, known at the time as the GM Advocacy Group, to work collaboratively on publishing the first set of publications and reports in Nature[3]. The first annual report from the institute was released in 2015 and on Dec 3, 2015, the STEMadvocacy.org domain was formally registered. New advisors, members, and staff continued to join the organization between 2015 and 2018. The institute was formally recognized as a 501c(3) non-profit organization on August 7, 2018[4].
In February 2021, the first SAi member was featured as one of the “1000 Inspiring Black Scientists in America[5]” by Cell Mentor, a career development resource hosted by Cell Press. The Manhattan Mercury newspaper based in Kansas featured former SAi Fellow Priscila Guzman where she discussed her STEM Latinx outreach program that she incubated at SAi[6]. WBRS radio station at Brandeis University also featured SAi live on air on Sept 26, 2018.
Programs[edit]
- Launched in late 2018, the SAi Fellows Program has hosted over 30 fellows predominantly from the United States[7]. The virtual program takes place twice a year (fall and spring) hosting on average 5-6 fellows per cohort. The program “seeks to provide mentorship and funding to diverse practitioners with novel early-stage ideas which aim to build or strengthen bridges between science and society. Fellows receive the theory, design, implementation, and evaluation knowledge-base to enable them to build impactful and sustainable initiatives.” The program has received seed funding awards from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund[8] and the Simons Foundation.
- Launched in the summer of 2020, the Science Communication Summer Research Program (SciComm-SRP) at SAi seeks to "provide research and program development opportunities in science communication to US undergraduate students." The program hosts 3-4 interns per summer. The program received its initial seed grant from the American Society for Cell Biology in 2021.[9]
- SAi also manages a residency program that hosts independent researchers and practitioners working to develop new tools, programs, assessments, and scholarly work that build bridges of access between science and society around the world to broaden participation and engagement. Junior Residents are typically appointed to 1-2 year renewable terms.
Annual symposium[edit]
SAi held its first annual Symposium titled "Research and Practice Insights at the Interface of Science and Society," on July 10, 2021. The keynote speaker from Cornell University, Bruce Lewenstein (a known figure on public communication of science and technology[10]), presented on "Why public engagement is – and always has been and always will be – critical for science."[11]
Publications[edit]
SAi produces an annual report every fall[12] and also publishes the Journal of Stories in Science which has been previously featured in the EdSurge magazine[13] The journal’s website states that the mission is to “organize and preserve diverse stories in science from around the world for future generations.” Several journals have published academic articles and books by members of SAi.[14][15][16][17] The institute also hosts a digital library that provides access to the growing number of collections with publications and reports on communication, outreach, engagement, education, history, and policy in science.
Awards[edit]
- In 2021, Acquisition International Magazine[18] awarded SAi for the “Most Inclusive STEM Support” within the Non Profit Organization category.
References[edit]
- ↑ "About SAi". Retrieved 28 August 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "The case for a global fund for science education". SciDevNet. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Muindi, Fanuel; Keller, Joseph B. (July 2015). "Emerging network of resources for exploring paths beyond academia". Nature Biotechnology. 33 (7): 775–778. doi:10.1038/nbt.3282. ISSN 1546-1696.
- ↑ "STEM ADVOCACY INSTITUTE - GuideStar Profile". www.guidestar.org. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
- ↑ "1,000 inspiring Black scientists in America". 28 December 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ ajdome@themercury.com, AJ Dome. "K-State doctorate student works to introduce Latino families to STEM careers". The Mercury. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
- ↑ "SAi Fellows Program". SAi. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
- ↑ "Grant Recipients". Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
- ↑ "ASCB grant funds five new innovative public engagement projects". ASCB. 2021-06-21. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
- ↑ "Bruce V. Lewenstein". CALS. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
- ↑ Holesovsky, Claire (22 July 2021). "1st Annual SAi Symposium: A time for reflections and celebrations!". Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ↑ "Annual Reports". SAi. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
- ↑ Young, Jeffrey (20 March 2019). "Could Remixing Old MOOCs Give New Life to Free Online Education?". EdSurge.
- ↑ Gall, Andrew J.; Vollbrecht, Peter J.; Tobias, Tristan (2020). "Developing outreach events that impact underrepresented students: Are we doing it right?". European Journal of Neuroscience. 52 (6): 3499–3506. doi:10.1111/ejn.14719. ISSN 1460-9568.
- ↑ Mach, Reilly Q.; Tsai, Jessica W.; Muindi, Fanuel J. (2020-12-10). "Evolving Structure and Diversity of Human Narratives in the Journal of Stories in Science": 2020.12.08.417071. doi:10.1101/2020.12.08.417071v1.
- ↑ Muindi, Fanuel J.; Ramachandran, Lakshmi; Tsai, Jessica W. (2020-03-01). "Human Narratives in Science: The Power of Storytelling". Trends in Molecular Medicine. 26 (3): 249–251. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2019.12.001. ISSN 1471-4914. PMID 32005566 Check
|pmid=value (help). - ↑ "Journeys in Science - 1st Edition". www.elsevier.com. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
- ↑ "Winners List". Acquisition International. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
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