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SciTech Institute is a collaborative organization that collaborates with and connects Arizona’s industries and leaders to build a world-class community of STEM-literate workers. We attract grants, resources and support from in and out-of-state organizations to align Arizona’s STEM assets (STEAM when you include the arts). These are some of our programs.
STEM or science, technology, engineering and mathematics represent the disciplines of knowledge by which we understand, measure, and design our world. Since 2012, the SciTech Institute, founded by the Arizona Commerce Authority, Arizona Science Center, Arizona Technology Council, Arizona Board of Regents, Arizona State University, and University of Arizona, is a collaborative organization striving to align STEM assets (STEAM, when you include the arts) and catalyze local resources within Arizona and beyond. The goals are to:
– Increase awareness and understanding of the wealth of STEM-related community knowledge, activities and practice;
– Promote community-based, participatory formal and informal STEM education sensitive to local values, practices, resources and interests; and
– Build a world-class pipeline of STEM-literate workers.
The Chief Science Officer (CSO) program, modeled on student government, elevates the student voice by bringing their peers and community leaders together to ignite new opportunities in STEM and innovation. CSOs are destined to…
– Create a pipeline of diverse STEM leaders prepared for college, careers and civic engagement;
– Enrich school STEM culture and career awareness.
– Increase the engagement of STEM professionals and community partners with STEM K-12 education.
– Increase student voice in STEM conversations in their schools and communities.
The annual Arizona SciTech Festival is a grassroots statewide celebration of STEM fueled by a collaborative of over 800 industry, academia, arts, civic, and community organizations. With over 2,000 expos, workshops, conversations, exhibitions and tours held in 80+ diverse neighborhoods throughout the state in 2018, the Festival is the third largest celebration in the nation.
2018 also marked the launch of a statewide Sonora SciTech Festival! A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the SciTech Institute and the Secretaria de Educación y Cultura in Sonora, Mexico is creating a collaborative environment to promote exchange relationships in STEM and culture in the Mega Region.
The Arizona Hubs Advancing Computer Science (AZ HACS) strives to improve computer science and computational thinking by providing K-12 teachers with access to the tools and technology they need to help students succeed.
In November 2020, the National Science Foundation (NSF) approved the Arizona Computer Science for All proposal which promotes the use of computer science and computational thinking in the classroom and supports the development of Research-Practitioner Partnerships (RPP).
Local RPP’s are teams of innovative thinkers, changemakers and collaborators who work with a statewide network to identify issues, gather reliable data, and make informed decisions to improve the quality of CS/CT education.
SciTech Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing and promoting STEM education and awareness in Arizona and beyond. It works to achieve this through some of the strongest STEM initiatives in Arizona, including the Arizona SciTech Festival, the Chief Science Officers program, the RAIN grant, the Arizona STEM School Community of Practice, Science For All and more.
SciTech Institute
1438 W. Broadway Rd., Ste 101
Tempe, AZ 85282
SciTech Institute is a collaborative initiative with the Arizona Commerce Authority and the Arizona Technology Council Foundation.