When it comes to college admissions, one specific trend is that more women are enrolling in universities across the country each year; however, women generally tend to avoid the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. With that in mind, one New Jersey university is looking to break this trend.
Dr. Katia Passerini, Ph.D., PMP, and Dean of the Honors College at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), along with former NJIT student Jasmine Faldu, visited the set of Live & Living with Joanna Gagis to discuss NJIT’s approach and dispel any myths related to STEM jobs. (For instance, a common misconception is that STEM professions require personnel to work alone in an isolated basement somewhere; which is far from what most STEM professionals experience. )
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Helping More Students Get into STEM Programs
Dr. Passerini says that the integration of students, and the intricately designed curriculum at NJIT, has allowed the college and student body as a whole to thrive in STEM programs. “…This is a group of students that is highly integrated; they work together even if they are in different fields. So they make their studies and their work a social event. And that continues to attract and retain students.”
Using the knowledge and abilities she learned from studying biomedical engineering at NJIT, recent graduate Faldu is on the path to a career in a field very different from what she studied in college: Dentistry. She explains that this was a designed plan; being in the engineering field, she became a problem-solver, which is a vital skill to possess when practicing medicine or a related profession.
Click below to watch Dr. Passerini and Faldu on Life & Living with Joanna Gagis talk about the various opportunities and programs that NJIT offers, such as the Society of Women Engineers, to help women succeed in the growing STEM fields.
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Hero (Top) Feature Image: © New Jersey Institute of Technology / njit.edu