A UNESCO Category-1 institute for STEM studies coming up in Shanghai

Shanghai is making every effort to establish the UNESCO International Institute for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in the city, Shanghai Vice Mayor Xie Dong told the participants at the 2024 World Digital Education Conference.

The institute, China's first UNESCO Category-1 organization, will be located at the Huangpu River waterfront in Xuhui District.

Xie said the neighborhood has numerous cultural and commercial complexes, as well as easy public transportation and a concentration of high-tech companies such as artificial intelligence, electronic information, modern biomedicine, and nanomaterials.

She also emphasized that the area has several exceptional schools with a strong foundation in STEM education that have been offering scientific and engineering courses for a decade, covering life, physical, environmental, and space sciences. The schools have created almost 40 transdisciplinary STEM programs.

Xie said the building's construction was complete, and design and decoration work is currently underway, which will transform it into a multi-functional area for research, offices, exhibitions, meetings, and interactions.

She stated that once the institution is operational, the city will work closely with it on STEM education, including curriculum creation, textbook compilation, education management, and teacher training. It will share its successes with the rest of the world.

Shanghai has fully recognized the value of STEM education in developing future-oriented talent in the new era of science and technology innovation and industrial transformation.

Since 2014, the city has encouraged schools to offer STEM-related courses to strengthen students' engineering and problem-solving skills.

More than 600 schools have introduced STEM education techniques through project-based learning programs.

Shanghai will actively respond to UNESCO's initiatives on Africa's priority and gender equality, as well as increase collaboration and exchanges with Africa and small island countries on STEM education.

"Shanghai is confident of providing solid support for the UNESCO International Institute for STEM and helping achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development goals," Xie said.