In disadvantaged neighborhoods of Boca La Caja, Panamá Viejo & Juan Díaz, students face educational inequality & environmental degradation. Public schools are under-resourced & disconnected from digital/scientific instruction, while nearby mangrove ecosystems are destroyed by pollution & urban encroachment. The EcoSTEM program aims to help students/teachers in 5 schools become both innovators & environmental stewards through:

1/ Training 15 teachers in STEM instruction & environmental education (Incl. kits, guides & technical assistance)

2/ Innovation workshops for 150 students in robotics, coding & environmental science, for youth to prototype tech-driven solutions

3/ Field-based environmental experience (Mangrove clean-up) to increase conservation behaviors

4/ EcoSTEM Grand Challenge for students to design STEM-based solutions to environmental issues & pitch their prototypes to peers, educators & a panel of expert judges incl. Alstom employees.

Project NGO: Pan American Development Foundation (PADF)