NJIT STEM Leadership Forum Inspires Educators to Bring 'Cutting-Edge STEM' into Classrooms
With students back in classrooms this fall, educators and superintendents across New Jersey were once again welcomed back to NJIT’s campus to network and discuss fresh ways they can enrich hands-on STEM learning in their schools at the university’s fifth annual STEM School Leadership Forum — “Bringing Cutting-Edge STEM into Your Classrooms.”
The Oct. 19 event, sponsored by NJIT’s Center for Pre-College Programs (CPCP), was kicked off inside the Campus Center Atrium with early greetings to on-hand and virtual attendees from CPCP Director Jacqueline Cusack and NJIT Provost Fadi Deek.
The day’s keynote talk was given by three-time alum Robert Cohen ’83, ’84, and ’87, NJIT Board of Trustees Chairand President of Digital, Robotics and Enabling Technologies at Stryker Corporation — one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, with facilities in N.J.
Cohen, whose impressive resume includes more than 25 patents and distinction as a Fellow to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, discussed the excitement of recent advances in medical technologies to improve patient outcomes at Stryker, as well as growing challenges he’s witnessing in finding STEM talent at home in New Jersey.
“Full disclosure, I’m a STEM junkie,” said Cohen at the top of his talk, who also sits on the STEM committee for the Newark Board of Education. “I have the best job in the world where I interact with all the divisions at Stryker that focus on the latest technologies in the medical device industry, from digital to robotics. … I can say that this is the most exciting time to be in the MedTech field in my 35 years, and yet, there are not enough people coming out of our education system going into STEM to meet the demand.
“Stryker has built one of the largest metal MedTech 3D-printing facilities in the world capable of taking in more new designs that can have a remarkable benefit on patient outcomes,” added Cohen. “It is innovation at its best. I can say the same thing about robotics. But we don't have enough engineers or data scientists … we have so many job openings and can't fill them. We need more trained professionals that can research, develop and manufacture surgical equipment and the software that runs them.”
Cohen also fielded questions from the audience on ways to prepare young students for a journey into the MedTech field.
“There's no reason that our elementary and middle school students can't gain an early appreciation for things like what the data cloud is, what sensors are or the wireless devices they use every day. We need to get them engaged and asking questions in the classroom such as how their gaming controller works without a cord, or what Bluetooth on a cellphone is … these concepts are relatable, and can inspire.”
The event later gave visiting educators the chance to draw inspiration from NJIT’s grounds and bring it back to their classrooms. Cohen’s appearance gave way to various breakout tours of NJIT’s diverse lab environments — from tissue and organ 3D-printing at the Instructive Biomaterials & Additive Manufacturing lab; to design and prototyping of innovative products happening at the NJIT Makerspace; to data analytics research at the Leir Business Data Observatory; to crime investigation and forensic analysis taking place at NJIT’s new Forensic Science Lab.
Above: Attendees tour Martin Tuchman School of Management’s new Leir Business Data Observatory.
Above: Makerspace Manager Justin Suriano shows visitors the space’s 3D scanning machines and other advanced measuring equipment.
“As Mr. Cohen pointed out, we are in need of STEM talent and the pipeline really starts in these educators’ schools,” said NJIT mechanical engineering professor Jaskirat Sodhi, who led the Makerspace tour with the facility’s manager Justin Suriano. “Exposing them to new STEM environments and concepts is what our tour is all about.”
Debra Mercora, superintendent of Lopatcong Township School District, was among the visitors taking notes on the Makerspace tour, which gave onlookers a peak at the bevy of 3D printers, laser cutters and other maker tools used for prototyping and manufacturing within the 21,000-sq. ft. facility. The tour also introduced them to education opportunities open to their students at the Makerspace, including a new mechatronics course that trains students in the latest in mechanics, robotics and production equipment.
“We’re actually in the process of creating a new Makerspace and STEAM curriculum at our elementary school, so to make sense of that we visited NJIT because we see the university as the crème de la crème,” said Mercora. “We want to give our students a place to be curious and the presentation helped us envision what our space could look like, especially newer areas of NJIT’s Makerspace with collaborative meeting rooms, tables and tools. Our thought afterwards was ‘we can do that’ … it was inspiring.”
“This forum was a great opportunity to engage school leaders in important discussions about STEM-related curriculum and instruction to inform their decision-making and strengthen programs at the pre-college level,” said Jacqueline Cusack, the event’s organizer. “The tours of NJIT's labs led by our expert faculty gave educators a snapshot of how the unique aspects of STEM education come together to facilitate investigations of, and solutions to, real world problems. Each of these experiences combined to make our registration-free forum a stimulating event for school leaders at a time when professional development is increasingly cost-prohibitive in their budgets.”
