By Karen Abrams, MBA Technology Consultant
Two days ago a good friend of mine raised a very important question when she interviewed our STEM Robotics team for her television show in Guyana. My friend asked: ‘Considering the bread and butter issues facing many Guyanese why is it important for us Guyanese to embrace STEM?’
What are those bread and butter issues to which my friend refers? Specifically, she is speaking about those issues that confront citizens in their everyday lives, issues that challenge them, affect the quality of their lives their safety and security; issues that preoccupy them and impact on their safety and emotional well-being.
Setting aside what we commonly call bread and butter issues, there are concerns like poor roads, ailing or failing schools, poor health care services, potable water, jobs and safety; basically, the issues that impact directly on the quality of life.
That question, in my mind, was profound because for those people struggling with bread and butter issues, it is, understandably, challenging to convince most that they must invest in STEM education for their children today.
Truth be told, an investment in STEM education and STEM technology in both the private sector and government will help to rapidly reduce the effects of bread and butter issue struggles that most citizens face in Guyana today.
The case for STEM Guyana
Guyana 2016 is not the Guyana that will exist even 10 years from now. The introduction of oil revenue into the Guyanese economy will markedly increase the demand for technology services in almost every industry that will exist 10 years from now. Simply put, our youth today need to be adequately prepared for a technologically advanced Guyana, and for a Guyana which will reflect an exponential increase in demand for IT services.
The government demand for IT services will have to increase significantly as government agencies will be forced to move away from paper records to electronic records stored in database systems.
Government agencies will also have to implement internal workflow systems that allow for more efficient delivery of basic services in an efficient manner over secure internet networks. Citizens will be able to transact very important businesses with government agencies from the comfort of their homes and phones. Corruption will decrease, lines will get shorter, employees will be more highly trained and better paid and the quality of life for all citizens will improve significantly.
Very few young people, who today, consume technology from the front end via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, video games, Snapchat and so on really have very little idea of the large, lucrative companies and the numerous high paying jobs behind the screens they constantly view. These companies create the technologies that they consume and are rewarded for selling advertising access to these very same technology consumers for a very high price.
While it is clear that these young people need to be reached in a fun, engaging and exciting way and convinced to study STEM subjects, they must also be convinced of how these subjects apply to their future career plans and how expertise in STEM will help them to make significant contributions to their communities, their country, their Caribbean region and even the wider world.
