Support for DBE & DHET through implementation of the Youth into Science Strategy (YiSS)

Support for DBE & DHET through implementation of the Youth into Science Strategy (YiSS) Acting Deputy Director-General: DST Human Capital and Knowledge Systems: Dr Daniel Adams Date: 14 September 2011

Contents • Objectives of the Youth into Science Strategy (YiSS) • Promotion of STEMI literacy • Talent and potential identification, and nurturing • DST’s support for DHET’s work within the ambit of the YiSS interventions • SET Career Guidance • Preparing selected learners for higher education life (talent nurturing) • Providing engineering students with placement for compulsory experiential learning

Contents • DST’s support for DBE’s work • Participation in the Adopt-a-Dinaledi School project • Participation of Dinaledi schools in the National Science Olympiad • Science centres’ support for under-resourced schools

Objectives of YiSS • To contribute to the development of the SET human capital pipeline by enhancing youth’s access to SET. • The YiSS has two strategic thrusts: • Promotion of STEMI literacy among youth and the general public. • Identifying and nurturing talent and potential.

Promotion of STEMI literacy among the youth • Existing periodic STEMI awareness campaigns: • National Science Week (NSW) led by the DST, which is an annual campaign to showcase the importance of STEMI in people’s daily lives. • Science Festivals that are organized and/or conducted by other stakeholders, but receive support from the DST. • STEMI career awareness, in the form of SET Career booklets that are distributed to learners, teachers and parents.

Promotion of STEMI literacy among the youth • Existing permanent or continuous STEMI awareness campaigns only take form of a Network of science centres. • These are science centres that are aligned to and supported by the DST. • There are currently approximately 28 such science centres. • The DST plays its developmental role by providing science centres with: • Annual development grants (Programmatic Support). • Capacity building programme (training and conferences).

Promotion of STEMI literacy among the youth • The National Youth Service is a government imperative and all departments are required to implement it. DST’s NYS is designed to support implementation of the YISS. The placement of graduates mainly at Science Centres help alleviate staff shortages.

Identifying talent and potential • Of the learners who selected Mathematics and Science as school subjects, those with talent and potential for SET careers are identified. • STEMI olympiads & competitions are the instruments that are used to identify learners with talent and potential. • STEMI olympiads & competitions are organized by other stakeholders with the support of the DST. • The DST’s support for olympiads and competitions mainly focuses on development training for educators and learners’ coaching clinics.

DST’s support for DHET under the YiSS interventions • The DST’s support for the DHET’s work takes three forms: • SET career guidance • Preparing selected learners for higher education life (talent nurturing) • Providing engineering students with placement for compulsory experiential learning

SET Career Guidance • The DST produces and distributes SET career publications to assist school leavers to make career choices in time • Over a 5-year period, the following quantities of SET career booklets and/or brochures were produced for distribution: • 2011: 250 000 brochures • 2010: 50 000 booklets • 2009: 30 000 booklets • 2008: 30 000 booklets • 2007: 20 000 booklets

Talent nurturing • Between 2004 and 2009, the DST in collaboration with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants conducted annual week-long holiday camps for learners • Each province had its own camp designed to accommodate 200 learners (Grades 10 to 12) • The camps programme has been reviewed and emphasis is now on quality instead of quantity

Talent nurturing • From 2011, the DST in collaboration with the University of Witwatersrand conducts a 2-week long camp programme that takes place 3 times a year • The camp programme accommodates 300 learners (Grades 10 - 12) who have been selected through very stringent criteria • The camp is held on the university campus and is designed to: • enhance curriculum content knowledge of the learners • Equip learners with skills necessary to cope with higher education life

Placement for experiential learning • The DST, in collaboration with the Black Science, Technology and Engineering Professionals (BSTEP) creates places in the engineering industry to offer engineering students opportunities for experiential learning • Currently, there are about 90 engineering students in the programme (from universities of technology) who are accommodated in 12 engineering organisations • The DST pays stipends for the students while the host organisations provides necessary mentorship

DST’s support for DBE (Enhancing classroom performance) • The DST’s support for DBE’s work takes the following forms: • Participation in the Adopt-a-Dinaledi School project • Participation of Dinaledi schools in the National Science Olympiad • Science centres’ support for under-resourced schools

Participation in the Adopt-a-Dinaledi School project • The DST has adopted 18 Dinaledi schools (at a rate of two schools per province) • Support provided to the schools has two categories: • Support based on schools’ needs: • Supplementary tuition in mathematics and physical science for grades 10 to 12. In the 2011 academic year 3 590 learners are benefiting from the programme • Training of teachers in areas of the curriculum which they consider to be difficult. 90% of the adopted schools indicated their need for this intervention. In the 2011 academic year, a three-day workshop was conducted by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University

Participation in the Adopt-a-Dinaledi School project (continued) • 44% of the adopted schools were provided with interactive white boards and necessary computer hardware and software • 50% of the schools which indicated their need for apparatus and/or consumables for physical science experiments were supplied with the required materials

Participation in the Adopt-a-Dinaledi School project (continued) • Support based on the objective of the Youth into Science Strategy where learners at the adopted schools receive preferential access to initiatives implementing this Strategy • For example: adopted schools receive grants of up to R100k to conduct National Science Week activities (STEMI promotion)

Participation of Dinaledi Schools in the National Science Olympiad • Annually, the DST provides funding to enable learners at the 500 Dinaledi schools to participate in the National Science Olympiad (NSO) (Talent identification tool) • Learner participation levels in NSO over a 5-year period: • 2011: 24 624 • 2010: 20 833 • 2009: 20 364 • 2008: 19 438 • 2007: 15 538

Science Centres’ support for under-resourced schools • Science centres supported by the DST assist under-resourced schools with curriculum-based science experiments • In limited cases learners use laboratory facilities at science centres. There are currently about 7 science centres equipped at this level • 10 science centres have mobile laboratory vans that are taken to under-resourced schools for science experiments

Thank you

Support for DBE & DHET through implementation of the Youth into Science Strategy (YiSS)