Johnson & Johnson partners with RISD, other organizations, to educate young women and girls in STEM2D

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island School of Design is one of 10 organizations around the world that health care company Johnson & Johnson is partnering with to advance the education of young women and girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing and Design, also known as STEM2D.
Through these partnerships, the company intends to reach 1 million girls between the ages of 5 and 18 by 2020, and hopes to motivate them through creative problem-solving and play so that they pursue careers in the STEM2D fields.
By partnering with academic centers such as RISD, it also intends to increase enrollment and graduation rates of undergraduate women in STEM2D fields. RISD received $100,000 earlier this year from the health care company to pursue STEM2D initiatives, according to a spokeswoman.
In addition to RISD, the company has partnerships with the nonprofit organization the National Center for Women and Information Technology and academic centers around the world, including Caltech, Harvey Mudd College, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica in Brazil, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rutgers-New Brunswick Honors College, Spelman College, The University of Limerick and The University of Tokyo.
Through the partnership, these institutions will augment their existing undergraduate STEM2D programs by offering scholarships, intensives, mentoring and research opportunities, allowing them to expand and retain an increased number of women entering into their programs.
Johnson & Johnson also is partnering with the nonprofits FHI 360 and Junior Achievement Worldwide on the effort.
“We know that there are many barriers that exist for young girls and women to gain exposure to and advancement in STEM2D-related fields,” Kathy Wengel, worldwide vice president, Johnson & Johnson Supply Chain, said in a statement.

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  1. This is an exciting development. Whether calling it STEM2D or STEAM, Rhode Island’s educational “supply chain” — from RI’s teacher colleges, to RI’s school bureaucracies, to RI’s General Assembly and town councils — needs to be tased and pushed to get behind this educational transformation that will get many more RI students on track with the 21st Century skills that matter for the careers that pay. It’s criminal to hear how little this state says (when compared to other East Coast states) about the urgency to boost math and science achievement — across all segments — by grade 4. This elementary grade is when students are beginning to define future career preferences. RISD leadership first began talking about the transformative value of STEAM in 2007. Inexplicably RI’s public education sector squandered this early opportunity to become a leader and to build out its STEAM talent pipeline. Nine years later, even when pushed by the Brookings report in January 2016, there’s a bit more talk, but little action.