AT&T Gives $25,000 to MDBio Foundation to Boost STEM Education in Maryland

AT&T is contributing $25,000 to the Maryland-based MdBio Foundation to boost science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in the Old Line State.

The contribution will support MdBio programs for underserved high school and rising middle school students, including the MdBioLab, a mobile laboratory that travels across the state providing students with hands-on STEM experiences.

Brian Gaines, CEO of the MdBio Foundation, made the announcement during Tuesday’s Advancing Tomorrow’s Leaders in STEM (ATLAS) event at the University of Maryland BioPark in Baltimore. ATLAS is a college and career readiness symposium that offers students underrepresented in STEM an opportunity to connect with business leaders, colleges, government agencies and potential employers. More than 100 students from the Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy, a Baltimore City public STEM school, participated in the symposium, according to a news release.

MdBioLab is designed to increase student interest in science and make them aware of career opportunities in the biosciences field. Each week during the school year, MdBioLab visits high schools across Maryland and enables students to explore the life sciences through hands-on experiments ranging from crime scene forensics to the diagnosis of diseases. Since its launch in 2003, MdBioLab has served more than 130,000 students and 2,000 teachers across all of Maryland’s school districts, according to a news release.

“It’s very important for students across Maryland to have strong STEM skills,” said LaTara Harris, AT&T’s regional director for external affairs, in a statement. “Employers, like AT&T and many others, need candidates with these skills. The work of the MdBio Foundation, including the mobile lab visits across the state, help students gain the skills and expertise they will need for success.”

For more information about MdBioLab, including school visits planned for the 2016-2017 school year, visit mdbiofoundation.org.

About the Author

Richard Chang is associate editor of THE Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • geometric pattern of books arranged in a grid, connected by sleek, glowing lines resembling circuitry

    Edthena, Digital Promise Combine 'Science of Reading' Resources for Teachers

    To better equip educators with the skills to practice Science of Reading instruction, Edthena is collaborating with nonprofit Digital Promise.

  • Abstract illustration of a human news reporter interviewing an AI with a microphone

    AI on AI in Education: A Dialogue

    Scholars are doing lots of asking and predicting about the risks and rewards of generative artificial intelligence in school, but has anyone asked the all-knowing chatbots?

  • stylized illustration of a global AI treaty signing, featuring diverse human figures seated around a round table

    First Global Treaty to Regulate AI Signed

    The United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and several other countries have signed "The Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law," the world's first legally binding treaty aimed at regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

  • Human Error Remains the Leading Cause of Cloud Data Breaches

    Human error is still one of the biggest threats to cloud security, despite all the technology bells and whistles and alerts and services out there, from multi-factor authentication, to social engineering training, to enterprise-wide integrated cybersecurity platforms, and more.