About the Collaboratory
The Western Michigan University STEM Workforce Collaboratory (STEM-WC) is a campus entity serving to advance WMU’s STEM programs and enhance the STEM pipeline and workforce. The STEM-WC is a collaboration between the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Colleges of Arts and Sciences. The STEM-WC is supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) from the U.S. Department of Education (awarded in early fall 2022).
Goals
The STEM-WC enhances curricula at WMU and academic partners, provides WMU with the direction and resources for continual upgrading of STEM lab equipment and technology, and establishes a way for faculty, students, and industry to effectively engage with one another. Specifically, the goals of the STEM-WC are to:
Establish an entity for students, industry, and the academic community to come together and develop knowledge and skills through STEM-focused microcredentials
STEM-WC will offer training that leads to microcredentials (both non-credit and for credit) in collaboration with industry partners and West Michigan community colleges and high schools. Microcredentials will expand pathways for students to obtain, or gain college credit toward, a two-year or a four-year degree, or to document career-relevant training;
Establish an entity to enhance course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) and student internships to gain relevant real-world knowledge while pursuing a college education;
Provide opportunities for externships for WMU faculty to gain real-world experience so that they can better incorporate industry needs into current and future curricula;
Establish an entity to allow for industry partners to communicate training needs to WMU; and
Establish an entity to allow for WMU faculty experts to help industry solve problems.
What is STEM?
STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
