Problem
There is a generally held belief that for science education to be effective, it must be society-oriented. Most programs focus on developing creativity and engendering the principles of scientific enquiry. Far fewer focus on relevance to the child and also relate to wider societal and technological issues.
Solution
IWA created IWA academy with the goal of leveraging the expertise and experience of IWA member families in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and interacting with children to promote STEM education in the Greater Lafayette community.
Why Now?
The gap between the economic classes in society is widening and has been growing since the last two stock market crashes. Jobs in STEM disciplines are going to be an ever-increasing proportion of available occupations and they are likely to be the high paying jobs too. IWA academy works on the premise that by improving participation of underprivileged students in STEM disciplines, it will be serving the economic and social well-being of the country .
Why IWA?
Indian Women’s Assciation (IWA) members have a tradition of supporting and strengthening the value of a good education, by encouraging young people in our community to strive for academic and extra-curricular excellence, for example, through volunteering as judges, helpers and mentors at school science fairs, spelling and history bees, math counts, and debate competitions. Our team consists of parents who have guided children through wins at local, state and national levels in science, geography, spelling, math, English and debate competitions, acceptance to prestigious scholarships at Purdue and at top universities in the world. IWA has been very successful at fundraising for various local causes. Hence, we believe that we have the wherewithal, the drive, the knowledge and the capacity to realize the stated objectives.