Global collaboration will yield a blend of technology-based and traditional STEM programs with scholastic esports for youth

(Atlanta, GA – January 27, 2022) — NASEF and STEM Punks are collaborating to develop an innovative comprehensive Global STEM Learning Marketplace™ to support students around the world to develop the STEM skills needed to grow and thrive.

STEM Punks is well-recognized for its in-school and out-of-school STEM activities for students in Australia and elsewhere, covering a wide spectrum of career development pathways including such areas such as energy, transportation, IoT, and health technology. NASEF provides similar pathways for learning and career development by connecting play and learning through the experiential lens of gaming and esports. Working together, NASEF and STEM Punks will offer students a comprehensive range of educational and career pathways, with a core focus on the disenfranchised and the disengaged.

“We originally connected through esports, with STEM Punks becoming our Australia Affiliate,” said Gerald Solomon, founder and executive director of NASEF. “We have since discovered that both organizations have nearly identical goals of youth empowerment and impact through project-based learning. We’re developing ways an innovative Global STEM Learning Marketplace will connect our scholastic approach to esports to STEM Punk's highly reputable STEM programs.  Students will be able to explore the pathway that is right for them, finding the resources needed to develop their STEM skills. It will be “All Things STEM” from play to curriculum to career and workforce development, and everything in between.”

“Like NASEF, our goal is to raise awareness of job opportunities and prepare students for success in a diverse future workforce,” said Michael Holmstrom, co-founder and CEO of STEM Punks. “We connect industry with schools to help students learn new STEM skills and apply them in real-world problem-solving scenarios. Collaborating with NASEF will help us develop a framework of classes and clubs to optimize student engagement and learning in multiple venues, just as NASEF is doing through its global leadership in esports. Our working together will create the future generations of critical thinkers, innovators and entrepreneurs.”

About NASEF

The North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) is on a mission to provide opportunities for all students to use esports as a platform to acquire STEM/STEAM-based skills and critical communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills needed to thrive in work and in life. NASEF operates under the umbrella of the World Wide Scholastic Esports Foundation (WWSEF). Find NASEF at NASEF.org and on Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram

About STEM Punks

STEM Punks® is an award-winning STEM education provider that delivers immersive STEM programs to a global audience of students and teachers. All content is developed and delivered by professional teachers with a key focus on learning outcomes and educational value. STEM Punks’ mission is to ‘Inspire Tomorrow’s Innovators’ and create 21st Century learners through a mindset of innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship.

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Media contacts:

Claire LaBeaux, [email protected]

Fiona Holmstrom, [email protected]