Jun 27, 2022 – Over the last 18 months PJI’s activities have been restricted by the impact of Covid-19 and the closure of most schools nationwide. However, during that time PJI, together with three great partners, has developed a comprehensive program innovation which will benefit teachers and students in up to twenty schools in the province of West Java. In fact, this partnership is a classic representation of the mobilization of resources from a diverse group of entities. Each partner provides a contribution which complements that of the others involved in a STEAM Education Initiative. PJI is incredibly pleased to engage;

1. Government Endorsement and Support from both the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Provincial Government of West Java.
2. Private Sector support in the form of funding and volunteer engagement from Amazon Web Services Indonesia.
3. Academic Support from the team at the Nanyang Institute of Education at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

The four partners, including PJI, are beginning a curriculum integration using an augmented series of lessons focusing on STEAM. Teachers will be upskilled to deliver advanced lessons to students who, as a result, will graduate from school with a more advanced competence in the use and application of technology. The resources provided by each partner include, but limited to the following;

1. Local Government provides all additional Parties with access to twenty high schools spread right across the province. It endorses the mobilization of up to five teachers from each school to participate in comprehensive training.
2. Amazon Web Services has provided support to ensure that 440 sets of BBC Micro bits and Grove Inventor Kits are made available to both teachers and students. They have also enabled the mobilization of Nanyang Institute of Education Lecturers and the regions teachers so as an impactful training will take place over a period of five days.
3. The team of academics from the Nanyang Institute of Education have developed a curriculum augmentation which embeds technology within national curriculum lessons. They have received copies of the Indonesian National Curriculum and have enhanced these by embedding an experiential learning component. These lecturers will train selected teachers to deliver STEAM lessons using BBC Micro-bits and Grove Inventor Kits.
4. PJI has been able to mobilize all the above Parties in support of a successful delivery of sustainable STEAM education programs within West Java schools and will continue ongoing coordination to ensure expansion.

This undertaking exemplifies the solutions required to address Sustainable Development Goals such as ‘Partnerships for the Goals’, ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’, and ‘Quality Education’. It characterizes the benefits of engaging proponents of community empowerment from different sectors to achieve positive impact. Subsequent to their experience, young Indonesians will be better placed to secure skilled employment and teachers will possess the capacity to continue the incorporation of STEM strategies and tools within their pedagogy.