Project STEAMex

The reason why I'm applying on behalf of our organization is because of what we believe is to serve a purpose of elevating sustainability: sharing the best of our abilities to help the younger generations. Through STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and a multidisciplinary, SDG-oriented, community-based, youth-led program, we have seen the change on more than 150 kids in vulnerable communities that have grown personally, academically, and socially. If we become winners, funding will be used in order to acquire more materials, such as tools, chassis, machinery, and robotics kits to reach out to more kids through our workshops and teams. Furthermore, we currently do not own a space where to work, hindering our chances to work with the youth in our nearby communities (Santa Catarina and San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon). Funding will consequently be used as well to get a place where we can establish a STEM education center, fully-equipped, and with the necessary items in order to have somewhere to work and somewhere our kids can feel safe to learn, be themselves, and have fun with robotics.

Project STEAMex is a youth-led, community-based education organization that embodies the definition of a community-changing initiative that transcends upon the impact of those who partake in it. Based in the community of La Fama, Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon, it is located in one of the state’s most marginalized communities and highly known for a serious problem with gang activity, teen drug consumption, high school dropout rates, and few accessibility education resources for people with disabilities. The idea behind Project STEAMex is to provide with opportunities for every single kid and teen that wishes to learn and grow with STEM education. As a context, STEAMex was founded in 2018 by college students, alumni from the FIRST Robotics Competition program, and from different cities across Mexico, with the purpose of providing the same opportunities and experiences they had to youth in vulnerable communities for the Greater Monterrey Metropolitan Area in northeast Mexico. As part of our mission to “Instill STEAM education as a tool for progress, development, and peace amongst the Mexican youth and their growth to become global changemakers”, our biggest focus is to convert STEAMex as a community growth and life quality progressing project rather than just a robotics club.

Tackling STEM education inequality and lack of inclusion in opportunities is what we center the most, as we are convinced that these activities generate tools of knowledge that lead youth into become positive changemakers and global citizens. Currently the community of La Fama is one of the top ten most marginalized areas of the state of Nuevo Leon; its growing propensity towards gang activity, drug consumption, violence, and unemployment has led to many to believe it’s a lost zone. For the past few years we have encountered stories of youth having to quit their studies to work to sustain their families, as well as many of them not having the opportunity to enter good colleges due to lack of funds to pay for higher education (even if offered an scholarship). This lack of motivation is what drives youth to make poor choices and lead them towards the issues that affect our community. Through STEM education, we aim to inspire at-risk kids and teenagers into fields they could later go on and become a university major and a career. Moreover, we install values, multidisciplinary skills, and SDG education to have them become positive citizens and role models to other kids.

Not only does our program include STEM education but it is fully-rounded with multidisciplinary skills and SDG education that motivates an integral educational experience. As a community-based organization, our focus is not based on profits, but in outreach, providing with opportunities for kids to reinforce what they learn in school with new technical skills that they would otherwise would not have access in their traditional classrooms. Students get to build robots, learn business skills (like handling financial budgets, graphic designing to generate sponsorship plans, business pitching, social media community management, etc), and manage social impact projects (both STEM education related and social service) as part of our work model. Project STEAMex is recognized as Official Partner for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Register #32375) because of our multidisciplinary model and efforts towards spreading the importance of SDG application in educational experiences. Also important to highlight that, due to the nature of the communities we work with, our budget is very limited and materials are very basic, often using recycled or donated materials and machinery to build our robots, yet this works positively as students get to apply problem-solving skills and use creativity for engineering tasks. 

Project STEAMex aims to fully work in capacity-building and technology transfer. The latter applies as mentors work with students to transfer technical and skilled knowledge for them to carry on team activities where they must apply what they have learned (for example building a robot or writing a Business Plan). Furthermore, some of the projects we work with our community (and internationally) involve our students sharing their skills. These projects being such as the implementation of workshops, the opening of new teams, or the creation of STEAM programs, all through which adults and members can act as mentors and facilitators. This ultimately creates a chain where mentors transfer their knowledge to students, which they can later transfer to other students to multiply the outreach of STEAM education. As for capacity-building, this is a self-sustainable, exponentially-growing initiative. As students learn the necessary skills and knowledge for them to carry out their activities, season after season, graduating students pass on to become mentors that support upcoming generations with their learning process and adding on with their previous experience as team members. This increases the number of people involved in the teams and thus multiply our capacity to make an impact (ripple effect).