PepsiCo, Inc. PEP today announced a continued and strengthened commitment to develop science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) talent and workforce skills, mentorship and advocacy through partnerships and education.
As part of its ongoing STEM efforts, the PepsiCo Foundation has given a $1 million grant to support the New York Academy of Sciences' Global STEM Alliance, which inspires high school students to pursue STEM careers. U.S. STEM jobs are expected to grow 17 percent between 2008 and 2018,1 yet Americans and nationalities around the world are struggling to meet the demand as students opt out of STEM careers at an alarming rate due to lack of training, access or interest. In 2020, the U.S. will demand 123 million high skilled STEM workers, but will be met with only 50 million qualified to fill these roles2.
The PepsiCo Foundation grant will allow the New York Academy of Sciences to create The Junior Academy, as part of the Global STEM Alliance. In the first phase of the 3-year grant, 250 secondary school students in underserved populations in the U.S. will be selected to participate in the social learning platform, which gives them access to unique content and programming. These students will progress through a selection of curricula and challenges developed specifically for the newly created Junior Academy. Unlike other STEM programs, The Junior Academy allows the students flexibility through self-directed learning. Gamification techniques will be leveraged to engage and incentivize students. In addition, Junior Academy students will have access to mentors from corporate partner organizations or STEM expert networks. Over the grant's three years, the goal is to significantly increase the number of students engaged and to expand globally.
As a way to apply their learnings, students can participate in a 60-day "PepsiCo Innovation Challenge," focused on the problem of food loss, which will ask students to seek inventive ways to cut down on waste in the food chain, from production to household consumption. The students will research, design and work to identify solutions to this global problem, mentored by PepsiCo employees in various STEM functions.
"We are presenting young talent with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to have hands-on, real work experiences that we hope will translate into higher numbers of students pursuing careers in STEM-related fields," said Dr. Mehmood Khan, vice chairman and chief scientific officer of Global Research & Development at PepsiCo. "We want to engage, excite and inspire curious minds as they join us to explore the diverse range of science-based careers in the food industry."
"PepsiCo is already committed to finding innovative ways to feed our growing population. They take this commitment a step further by supporting the crucial mission of connecting students around the world to opportunities in STEM," said Ellis Rubinstein, president and chief executive officer of the New York Academy of Sciences. "It is imperative that we demonstrate to our most promising students that STEM careers allow them to change the world for the better. And it is equally important that we prepare these students well, so that they can successfully take on the major global challenges of tomorrow. The Junior Academy was designed to do just this."
The Junior Academy is currently recruiting students through October 15, 2015. The student application and full program details can be found on the official Junior Academy web site.
Mentorship in Action
In addition, PepsiCo is partnering with STEMconnector, an organization focused on promoting and expanding the teaching and learning of STEM, on two mentorship initiatives: Million Women Mentors and Career Accelerator Week.
Since women represent only 24 percent of the STEM workforce3, PepsiCo is focused on improving STEM mentorship opportunities and early career retention for this under-represented population. STEMconnector's Million Women Mentors (MWM) is a global program that supports the engagement of one million STEM mentors to increase the interest and confidence of girls and women to pursue and succeed in STEM programs and careers. PepsiCo holds the vice chair of the global MWM taskforce, and has already pledged 150 mentors to-date, with plans to expand to 1,000 in the U.S. and globally in 2016. For more information on MWM and current pledge numbers, visit www.millionwomenmentors.org.
"I have made supporting diversity, women and STEM a core focus in my career, as we look to provide women and girls with much needed inspiration to pursue STEM jobs," said Edie Fraser, chief executive office of STEMconnector. "Although we see many women pursuing STEM majors early in college, they are often put off by challenges faced, including a shortage of female mentors in STEM fields and gender differences in the workplace."
PepsiCo will also be supporting national STEM Career Accelerator Week (CAW), expanded from STEM Career Accelerator Day, which will take place October 19-23 across PepsiCo headquarter locations.
During the week, PepsiCo will host more than 300 students in grades 8-11, educators and parents with the goal of exposing young talent to career possibilities with a STEM education. Students will get practical hands-on experience in research and development, business Internet solutions, supply chain and finance, to make them more aware of how STEM coursework relates to the workplace.
For more information about PepsiCo's STEM activities, visit http://www.pepsico.com/live.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2014, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.
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About the PepsiCo Foundation
Established in 1962, the PepsiCo Foundation is the philanthropic anchor of PepsiCo, responsible for providing charitable contributions to eligible non-profit organizations. The Foundation is committed to developing sustainable partnerships and programs in underserved regions that provide opportunities for improved health, environment and education. For more information, please visit: http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Global-Citizenship.
About the Global STEM Alliance
The Global STEM Alliance is an international initiative of the New York Academy of Sciences with over 100 partners in more than 50 countries and regions, including government agencies, corporations, educational institutions, and nongovernmental organizations. The mission of the GSA is to increase the number and diversity of students in the STEM pipeline, with a goal of reaching a total of 1 million students in 100 countries by 2020. By providing hands-on research projects, mentoring opportunities with leading STEM experts, and a comprehensive, tech-based learning platform, the GSA arms students with the skills they need for successful careers. The programs of the GSA are geared towards under-served groups, with the special goal of reducing the skills gap between schools and the workforce. Please visit us online at www.globalstemalliance.org
About STEMconnector®
STEMconnector® is "The one-stop for STEM Information." With an innovative product-line, STEMconnector® works closely with corporations and other organizations to provide them with a set of tools and resources that support their corporate development, corporate structure and smart STEM investments.
1 U.S. Commerce Department, 2011
2 Gordon, E. (2009).The Global Talent Crisis. The Futurist
3 The Department of Commerce's Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation (August 2011)
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150923005165/en/
PepsiCo, Inc.
Shana Andrews, 312-821-2392
shana.andrews@pepsico.com
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