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JADESOLA ADEDEJI, Founder/CEO of STEM METS, is a social entrepreneur with a dream to change what education looks like in Nigeria. In this interview with STEPHEN ONYEKWELU and ENDURANCE OKAFOR, she points the way forward.
What is STEM METS about, what brought about the initiative and for how long has it been in existence?
STEM METS is a social enterprise and our vision is to enrich, nurture and inspire Nigerian children and youth to develop the skill set they need for the future work place.
We do that by using various STEM educational programmes, so STEM is Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM). We use different STEM programmes to develop these skill set in children and the skill set that will help them inculcate are specifically; critical thinking, communication, collaboration and problem solving skills.
So, they do not need to want to be a scientist to possess those skills, as they are basic skills needed in the workplace, and because technology is really influencing the way we live and work, the way we teach, the way we learn, as such we are inculcating that in how the children are been thought and is not just theory alone.
The company has been in existence for about four years now, and apart from STEM, we run another program called brickz4kidz initiative, where we use leg go to teach children STEM, and that is what I mean by using innovative and an alternative learning platform to teach children. This encourages students to be better problem solvers, innovators, and creative thinkers, while preparing them for varying careers in the future work place.
How many young Nigerians have you been able to impact on using STEM initiative?
We have actually been able to reach out to over 4000 children since we started in 2014. We run our programme as an after school programme and we also run our programme during the holidays as a camp, so children come three hours a day for a week and they are able to participate in our different programmes, but those are fee programs that we run. Although we have been able to partner one foundation so far which has funded us to run public schools where we also run our programme.
We key into reaching as many children as possible in a v variety of ways as possible, and that is how the Air Bus foundation has also come about.
What is the idea of STEM METS and why are young Nigerians targeted in your plans?
The idea is to start when they are young, and the idea is that we are developing the talent pool for the future, the skills that they are going to need in the future are been developed now. We are developing them now, we are inspiring them now, we are giving them the skill set they need and we are trying to develop it as they are growing through their educational journey. Such that in the future these skill set would have already become part of them, they can actually become skilled graduate and skilled employees, because there are many graduates in Nigeria that are not skilled.
How are you embedding technology and soft skills into your programmes?
You have people who have Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or first class but cannot find any job, as they have the theoretical knowledge of their field of study but they do not have the practical knowledge that is required in the work place.
What are the main challenges STEM METS faces in trying to achieve its goal and objectives?
Well firstly is trying to get people to understand what we do, the objective, the outcome will are try to reach and measure; basically, as a company the challenge would be human capital, finding the facilitator, teachers that will even run our programmes. So we have a fantastic programme, great content in our curriculum but our challenge is how to get that out effectively, because remember we are inspiring and instilling, so what you are telling the children has to be of quality and it has to be passed on well.
How can government be involved in achieving indicatives like yours?
I think one would be to have access to the government, and once we have that access, being able to even let them understand what we do. Collaborations and partnerships are keys, as we cannot do it all alone, although we have been trying to do it alone. We have made impact but we feel that collaborations will open more doors ways and we can be able to reach more children through collaborative partnership.
What plans do you have in place to help achieve your goals?
Well, our goal is one, which is to reach as many children as possible in Nigeria and equip them with the skills they need for the future that is our singular goal. How we are going to do it is the challenge, and like I said we cannot do it alone, so we think partnership and collaboration is key, so we are always looking at creative ways to partner with different organisation to deliver the program without compromising the integrity of our program.
What is the success level of STEM METS?
So far, STEM METS has been very successful but again we are restrained by resources. We are not deterred nevertheless, as our goals and aspiration are still very much the same, just that we are looking for creative ways to now administer them.
