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The Institute for a STEM Ready America

Driving innovation in the field of afterschool and summer STEM to revolutionize how we prepare youth for the future of work.

The future of work is changing — fast.

STEM jobs are growing at twice the rate of non-STEM jobs, with 65% of today’s youth expected to face careers that don’t yet exist. And yet only a small fraction of young people across America have access to the hands-on STEM experiences outside of school that are proven to help them explore and prepare for the careers of tomorrow.

The Institute for a STEM Ready America acts now to address this urgent gap, rapidly scaling what works in afterschool and summer programs to excite 20 million more youth with STEM by 2030.

The Institute:

  • Leverages the critical role afterschool and summer programs already play in exciting youth with hands-on STEM.
  • Guides how out-of-school STEM programs infuse career exploration and navigation into youth experiences.
  • Aligns what kids learn today with the opportunities of tomorrow — from biotechnology and agricultural innovation to artificial intelligence and space exploration.
  • Convenes community organizations, educators, industry experts, employers, and policymakers so that career-connected experiences outside of school are widely available and relevant to youth in every community nationwide.

Centers of Excellence

Alignment with Workforce Needs

Through these Centers of Excellence, the Institute ensures that what kids learn and explore in STEM programs today aligns with the careers of tomorrow. Each focuses on a high-opportunity STEM field, forging dynamic partnerships between industry and afterschool and summer programs.

teacher supports students

Next-Level Technology

Inspires youth to explore AI, advanced manufacturing, and the cutting-edge tech shaping our digital world.

Next Level Technology
Two astronauts in a space station examine a green plant with exposed roots—demonstrating STEM education for the future workforce. One wears safety goggles and gloves, smiling while holding the plant, as the other looks on attentively in the background.

Earth & Space Learning

Connects youth to big ideas in aerospace, geoscience, and the future of space exploration.

Earth & Space Learning
A young girl and teacher look at a solution during a science experiment.

Life & Health Sciences

Engages youth in the science of healing, discovery, and innovation in human health and biotech.

Life & Health Sciences

Our Key Strategies

To keep pace with rapid advances in STEM, we’re supporting the out-of-school-time field with bold, future-focused strategies. The Institute for a STEM Ready America helps youth discover their passions, develop critical skills, and see themselves in the careers shaping our world.

circuit and hands

Transforming Career-Connected Learning

Our Career-Connected Learning Framework guides how programs can enhance their approaches and activities to help youth explore, navigate and prepare for future careers in STEM. It includes actionable strategies to leverage career mentors, advance durable skills and meaningfully engage families.

Career-Connected Learning Framework
student works on laptop with teacher instructing nearby

Driving Innovation Through Field Challenges

The Institute accelerates innovation with time-bound challenge grants that invite afterschool leaders to pilot and scale fresh ideas. By combining funding, training and technical assistance, these grants help programs bring cutting-edge STEM experiences to youth.

For the Field
woman smiling on stage

Raising Awareness & Elevating Youth Voices

We amplify youth voices in STEM by sharing their stories and experiences through our Flight Crew program. National campaigns showcase to young people and decision-makers alike that STEM is everywhere and for everyone.

Flight Crew

Exploring Career Connections in STEM (EC²)

The Institute in Action

As a core initiative of the Institute for a STEM Ready America, The EC² project of STEM Next integrates out-of-school time STEM programs into workforce development systems to prepare young people for the future of work with hands-on career exploration.

The pilot project is a partnership with our afterschool network affiliates in Missouri, Nebraska, South Carolina, and South Dakota, with a model designed for nationwide expansion. It creates a new model for STEM career readiness that addresses critical national needs:

  • The rapidly growing demand for skilled STEM workers across the United States
  • Stronger pathways for youth to explore and gain skills for high-demand, high-wage careers in fields like biotech, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing
Research

STEM Ready America: A Compendium

Grounded in Research

Developed by STEM Next with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the STEM Ready America report is a compendium from 40 authors presenting bold and persuasive evidence—as well as real-world examples of effective practices, programs, and partnerships—on how STEM experiences outside of school are preparing young people to be successful in school today and the workforce tomorrow.

This compelling evidence laid the groundwork for the Institute for a STEM Ready America at STEM Next.

Explore the Compendium

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We are re-imaging the field of afterschool and summer STEM.

We are re-imaging the field of afterschool and summer STEM.

Help us shape the future for a STEM-ready generation.

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