Young Scientists Kenya sends teams of mentors to high schools across Kenya to engage young people in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to promote innovation, provide STEM career guidance, and upskilling of students and teachers. Students develop cutting-edge STEM projects which are judged by national and international judges ahead of an annual national exhibition and awards ceremony held in Nairobi, with further incubation and actualisation support given to the winners.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the low levels of digital literacy among students and teachers, particularly in marginalised areas. All public schools were closed in March and will remain closed for the foreseeable future. There are also no STEM innovation programs that equip students and teachers with 21st Century Skills in Kenya.
In 2020, YSK will engage entirely online, from 2021, we plan to pioneer a blended online and direct STEM programme, involving digital engagement and upskilling of students and teachers and physical outreach to marginalised students to ensure they continue to be engaged. The outreach activities include Design Thinking (and other 21st Century Skills) workshops around developing fundamental problem-solving skills and COVID-19 solutions, STEM career guidance, and mental health workshops for students
YSK has a cumulative reach of over fifty thousand students (from 2017 to 2020.) The pre-COVID-19 target was to scale this number to 100,000 students every year from the year 2021. By digitizing our activities, we estimate that we have the potential to reach and positively impact 500,000 students annually five years. Building on a successful Pilot will allow for this gradual scaling. Our online pilots have already had participation from different countries, evincing regional growth potential.
