GOI Launches Asia Regional Hub at 3rd Integrated STEM Leadership Summit in Manila
October 31, 2022
The MIT Global Opportunity Initiative (GOI), a movement to transform workforce education worldwide, will launch its Asia Regional Hub at the Third Integrated STEM Leadership Summit in Manila, Philippines. The summit is a collaborative space, where industry leaders, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders come together to explore workforce learning solutions. This year, the three-day event will take place from November 3rd to November 5th.
The mission of GOI is to provide the workforce with learning opportunities that will help them prosper in a rapidly-changing economy. Since its official launch in June 2022, GOI has been engaging with various organizations—including non-profits, non-governmental agencies, and companies—to identify the key challenges facing workers today. From a growing skill gap to pandemic-related job losses to unequal access to education and employment opportunities, these challenges call for holistic, sustainable, and systemic solutions. At the same time, the needs of the workforce are unique, shaped by factors such as where workers live and the quality of resources available to them. With an established presence in Asia, the first of several planned hubs, GOI aims to work with local and global organizations, integrating regional expertise with comprehensive best practices, to give the right skills to the right people in the right way.
As technological developments continue to drive demand for highly-skilled workers, a priority of the Third Integrated STEM Leadership Summit is to explore how to foster quality STEM education and skills training. On the first day of the Summit, participants will tackle the skill gap in the workforce, sharing best practices from across Southeast Asia for upskilling workers and for aligning education curricula with the needs of industry. Featuring keynote messages from Mr. Behzad Noubary, Deputy Representative for UNICEF Philippines, and Dr. Renato U. Solidum Jr., Secretary of the Philippines Department of Science and Technology, the day’s panel discussions will consider regional workforce challenges from different perspectives, including those of industry leaders and HR experts. Leaders from ILO Philippines and ILO Malaysia will also share their approaches for improving access to STEM education in the region.
The launch of the GOI Asia Regional Hub will help kick off the day’s events, with Dr. George Westerman, Founder of the Global Opportunity Initiative, giving a distinguished lecture on the urgency of collaborating to develop transformative workforce solutions.
Day 2 of the Summit brings together the different sectors of education, health, economy, environment, arts, and culture to explore integrated STEM in action. Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, MIT Dean for Digital Learning and Director of MIT RAISE, will deliver a keynote address on creative AI. Dr. Vijay Kumar, Senior Advisor to the VP of MIT Open Learning, will also speak on a panel on STEM in public governance. Other panel discussions will focus on agriculture; women in STEM workforce readiness and development; and the inclusion of the arts in STEM.
The Summit will conclude with a deep dive into skills training and workforce development solutions that foreground STEM models, initiatives, and policies. Dr. Claudia Urrea, Senior Associate Director of J-WEL PK-12, will share the innovations of the MIT Global FullSTEAM Ahead Program in a keynote message. The day’s panels will highlight successful regional STEM education and training models such as the SEAMO STEM-ED Centre and the UP National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development, as well as cross-collaborative initiatives.
This year’s Integrated STEM Leadership Summit is a hybrid event that welcomes registrants both in-person and virtually. To register and learn more about the summit program, please visit: https://www.stemsummitasia.org/.
To find out more about the Global Opportunity Initiative, please visit: https://gof.mit.edu/.
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