STEM

A St. Louis-based youth organization is working to help break gender disparities in science and technology fields by boosting young girls' interest in STEM — one shop class at a time.

Black Girls Do STEM and YouScience released the 2024 Black Students and STEM Report that shows that Black students across the nation have the aptitude to enter STEM careers, but they lack interest in pursuing them.

Junior high students from around Missouri competed to represent the state in a national contest to design and present a vision of an electrified, eco-friendly city that could be a model for life in the future.

UnLocked Labs was one of three winners of the Justice Innovation Program, funded by the social justice nonprofit Dream.org. The $250,000 grant equals a quarter of its current annual budget.

The Taylor Geospatial Institute has appointed Nadine Alameh, president and CEO of the international Open Geospatial Consortium, as its first executive director.

Julian Nicks replaces former CEO Tasmyn Scarl, who recently resigned after two months on the job. Scarl's departure followed a wave of criticism from Launchcode employees and students that the organization had not publicly supported its transgender students and staff on social media.

The school purchased a vehicle it calls the STEM Mobile that will take portable experiments and other hands-on science opportunities to younger students.

Harris-Stowe State University has a five-year strategic plan to better prepare students for careers in science and technology and secure the university’s accreditation. The plan aims to improve student achievement rates, retention, innovation, academic assessments, service and fiscal responsibility.

Jessica Hicklin served 26 years in a maximum security prison for murdering someone when she was 16 years old. While incarcerated, Hicklin taught herself to code and built skills she could use outside of prison. Now, nine months after her release, she's excited to bring that same opportunity to others with UnLocked Labs, which she co-founded with Haley Shoaf.

The number of tech jobs is increasing in the St. Louis region, but women and African Americans are underrepresented in the workforce, according to a report by the technology group TechSTL.