The College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, the College of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences and University Libraries are key partners in this collaboration. “Being able to scale these experiences and assess the impact of the programs is a tremendous opportunity.”īuilding on existing initiatives, this project integrates research-based outreach efforts across several Colleges. “Over the last few years, our hackathons and STEAM Factory Outreach have both been successful in achieving high levels of interest among targeted audiences,” said Co-PI Arnab Nandi, faculty director of OHI/O and associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. To engage youth, ages 10-18, in a semi-structured environment, researcher teams will develop and prompt multi-disciplinary challenges during the OHI/O hackathons for middle- and high school students. By enabling rich dialogues between researchers and community residents, the program could fundamentally transform the way we view research and education, blurring the lines between formal and non-formal learning environments.” “In this project, we will also study the effect of participation in this collaborative program on the motivations and identity of researchers. “Typically, this is understood for students however, we believe it is equally essential for researchers,” said Kajfez. Gopalakrishnan added that a cultural shift toward collaborative problem-solving and divergent thinking from multiple perspectives is crucial for society and academic institutions.Ĭo-PI Rachel Kajfez, assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Education, added that a primary function of public institutions for higher education is to create learning environments that foster self-directed lifelong learning, critical thinking and creativity, and a sense of responsibility toward the community. “The need for public interactions with new and cutting-edge research, technology, and discoveries, in informal settings is significant.” “When the average American citizen spends less than five percent of their life in classrooms, significant learning occurs largely outside formal structured environments,” said Principal Investigator Sathya Gopalakrishnan, Director of The STEAM Factory and associate professor in the College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences’ Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics. Similarly, The OHI/O Informal Learning in Tech Program, fosters a tech culture at Ohio State and in its surrounding communities through a variety of time-bound non-classroom events and interactive learning offerings such as hackathons.
Located in downtown Franklinton, alongside innovators in arts and technology, the STEAM Factory provides space for scholars to engage with the broader Columbus community through a research-based, informal outreach program. The STEAM Factory, which started as a small informal group of junior faculty looking to connect with other like-minded professors, has grown into a diverse, grassroots faculty network that fosters creative and innovative collaborations in research, education and outreach.
The funded project will connect and prepare researchers from divergent disciplines to creatively and effectively communicate science to public audiences of all ages and evaluate learning outcomes in multiple informal learning settings. The STEAM Factory provides space for scholars to engage with the broader Columbus community. Diversity, Outreach, & Inclusion Celebrations.Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Resources.Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex.Mobility Research and Business Development.
Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering.Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering.
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