Teaching STEM part 4: MeetingHigh school students
By the time go to college, most students already decide whether they will study Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) or not. Even they know about the job market's needs, but many are not sure unless they have a strong foundation of science and math. It is important to get them excite about science and technology as early as possible, but it is not easy.
As part of the STEM promotion program of Carnegie Mellon, last week several professors and I took a “self-driving” car to high schools in Pittsburgh. As student gathered around the car, I explained: “All you do is push a button then you can sit in the car to read books, do homework, text your friends, watch movies and the car knows how to take you home. How many of you would like a car like this?” Of course, students would love to have a driverless car. Then I asked: “Do you know how do the car drive itself?” Some students answered: “The car has computer and artificial intelligence (AI) software in it.” I asked: “How does AI work?” Most did not answer. I asked: “How many of you have seen the movie “The Terminator?” Of course, they all laughed and raised their hand. I asked: “Do you think it is possible to have smart robots with artificial intelligence like the” Terminator”? Many students laughed, and some said: “Not yet.” I explained: “We may not get to that point yet, but it will happen. Today AI already changed many things in industries. Now you see this self-driving car; you also know that your house can be transformed into a smart-house. Last year, you saw on TV that the IBM Watson (Created at CMU) already defeated people in the “Jeopardy games.” Today Watson is being used to answer questions about health care; it can read millions of medical hospital's files to recommend doctors how to treat patients. Are you ready to learn how to build AI software to control robots and cars?
Since only a few students seemed interested, the rest still hesitated. I explained: “OK, imagine that in the next few years, some of you want to work in factories but most human manufactory jobs are gone because intelligent robots are being used for all of the jobs. Some of you are planning to work in offices, but artificial intelligence automation software are taking most of the jobs there too. What would you do? Today AI technology is evolving faster than you can imagine, evidence in self-driving cars and self-driving trucks, and smart robots everywhere. Soon this technology will explode in every field. How do you compete with smart robots who can work all days and all night without rest? What would you do? What type of jobs could you have when you graduate from college?
By that time, many students began to feel uncomfortable about their future prospect. I continued: “If you read the newspapers in the past few days, you probably know that in the next five years, many houses built in the U.S. will use solar roofs that can generate its electricity. This is what Elon Musk is developing beside his self-driving Tesla. Even as we are talking today, technology is changing by thousands of startups developing innovations, new ideas, and changing our future. All over the world, there are thousands of people who are working to push the boundary of science and technology to the next level. If you do not seize the opportunity now, when will you?”
It seemed students begin to think seriously about my question. I continued: “I know that many of you have not thought about choosing the field of study in college, but I am sure by that time you graduate from college, most of you will not have the same jobs like what people have today because technology changes everything. If you look back, thirty or forty years ago, do you think your parents would imagine that there are things like iPhones or iPads? If somebody said the TV screen could be flat, they would probably laugh and said it is impossible. Now you can look into the near future and ask yourself what types of job can I do by the time I graduate from college? What do I need to learn to ensure that I will have a career that lasts a long time? Is it too early to think about it now? Can you wait until things happen? Should you prepare now so your future will be guaranteed?
Many students nodded their head in agreement. I said: “I think you should consider a career in STEM because there has never been a better time to choose STEM than today. Do you know that STEM jobs have been growing four times faster than any other jobs in the past ten years? Do you know that most STEM jobs pay 30% higher than others because there is a critical shortage of people with STEM skills? According to several studies, there will be over half million new jobs created each year in the next five years. If you start to learn about science and math to build a strong foundation in high school and select a field of study in science, technology, engineering and math in college, then you will do well. Maybe some of you will be the first astronauts to go to Mars? According to Elon Musk, builder of the Tesla electric vehicle and billionaire founder of SpaceX rocket, he is planning to build a rocket to Mars, and if everything goes well, the first astronauts to Mars could take off in 2024.”
“I know it might be uncomfortable to know that there will be changes in the future but this is also the opportunity that you have to seize it. I know some of you may say that STEM is NOT everything and I will agree with you. We need other skills such as music, humanity, laws, business, and arts. But technology will change them too as it will be integrated into other fields to create more wonderful innovations. There are technologies being used in arts, music, business and social science because today many fields are no longer stand as an isolated field but integrated with others. This inter-disciplines is the new way of innovation, but you must start with technology first, as it is the foundation of many things. Technology alone is not enough, but when it is integrated with arts, with music, with social and humanities then the combination will change many things, and this is the future. But if you build a strong foundation when you are still in high school, I am confident that you will get a good chance to build a better career in the future.”
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
