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STEM teaching and research

Advice for academics and lecturers working in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths to help advance STEM research and teaching. These resources cover issues such as how to widen participation and get more women into STEM fields, preparing students for STEM careers, managing the impact of AI on STEM learning, building industry collaborations and communicating STEM research for greater impact.

digital dentistry technician

An inter-university and interdisciplinary approach to dental education

A degree course that blends engineering and dentistry prepares students for their future practice. Here, Szandra Kormendi and Peter Hermann explain how it works

Péter Hermann, Szandra Körmendi

Semmelweis University

Young Asian scientist with test tube

Addressing the leaky pipeline in academia: strategies to attract and retain women scientists

Attracting more female researchers is one part of the work towards gender equity in science. Here, Anna Ginès i Fabrellas offers four actions to support women pursuing academic careers

Anna Ginès i Fabrellas

Esade

female student working on laptop

Using reflective practice to support postgraduate studies in the biosciences

Small-group workshops create space for postgraduate researchers to share ways to manage stress, impostor syndrome, feelings of isolation and student-supervisor relationships. Here’s how to set up a programme

Jo Haszczyn , Johanna Fish , Jennifer Tullet

University of Southampton, University of Kent

Doctors performing heart surgery

How to train world-champion cardiologists

Competition, cooperation and continuity in talent support play integral roles in training and preparing medical professionals, and improving patient care, write three cardiologists

Gellér László, Zoltán Salló, Nándor Szegedi

Semmelweis University

A group of people sitting round a laptop

Give educators the skills to bring assessment into the future

How can academics get to grips with the most cutting-edge of assessment tools? Matthew Courtney details how to educate STEM experts on modern assessment systems

Matthew Courtney

Nazarbayev University

Three young engineers in hazard gear

Steps to adapt engineering education to changing skills demands

Context-based learning, teamwork and creativity are all elements that could help engineering training respond more effectively to the needs of complex workplaces, writes Parakram Pyakurel

Parakram Pyakurel

New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering

Woman signing document

Pledges and charters in medical schools: catalysts for change or performative promises?

Pledges demonstrating support in addressing issues such as racism and misogyny will often garner interest and may even attract pockets of funding. But they also risk oversimplifying complex problems, writes Lois Haruna-Cooper

Lois Haruna-Cooper

UCL

Black female engineer working on a drone

How to help young women see themselves as coders, inventors and engineers

Female students can be overlooked in STEM fields. Janille Smith-Colin shares four ways to empower tomorrow’s engineering leaders to find their voice and the determination to use it

Janille Smith-Colin

SMU Lyle School of Engineering

Film set

Film storytelling can enhance learning in STEM subjects

In the era of social technologies, authentic storytelling becomes a powerful tool for cultural and social change, a fundamental role of higher education, writes Arijit Mukhopadhyay

Arijit Mukhopadhyay

University of Salford

Mike Ibba

Campus interview: Mike Ibba of Chapman University on mentorship and the future of US science

In this video podcast Mike Ibba, dean of Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman University, talks about undergraduate research, what philosophers and scientists can learn from each other and the state of US federal funding for science and technology research

Mike Ibba

Chapman University

Podcast title card

Campus talks: how to do public engagement

What is best practice for universities’ public engagement? How do you enlist the public in your research? And how do you keep them interested in the long term? Two 2022 THE Awards winners share their insights – from their experiences tracking Covid and decoding Dickens

Tanya Wood, Hugo Bowles

King’s College London, University of Buckingham

Engineering student

Nurturing advanced problem-solving skills with integrated projects

Integrated projects can be a powerful tool for bolstering problem-solving capabilities and encouraging students to integrate knowledge from various courses

Man Kee Lam , Yee Ho Chai

Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP)

College success

One write way to student success in mathematics

A detailed conversation and a letter begin a support process that can take students from repeated course failure to success and confidence. Here, Eric Grinberg explains how it works

Eric L. Grinberg

University of Massachusetts Boston

Student in chemistry lab

Messy decisions and creative science in the classroom

How can we teach students other than those studying for healthcare or other vocational qualifications to work across disciplinary boundaries and make scientific decisions in a creative – and enjoyable – manner? Here’s what we learned from running a data-driven drug-discovery scenario

Charlotte Dodson, Steve Flower

University of Bath

High school students in lab

A case study in developing the next STEM generation

University ‘taster days’ can introduce teenagers to what global health research and advocacy might be like as a future career. Here four academics describe a pilot training session and what they learned from it

Michael Head, Jessica Boxall, Winfred Dotse-Gborgbortsi, Kathryn Woods-Townsend

University of Southampton

students laughing in class

How to use humour to boost student understanding and foster creativity

Humour is a versatile teaching tool, explains Pete Ludovice. It’s fun, it makes the lecturer seem more approachable, helps make complex concepts relatable, shifts cognitive load, and encourages innovation in the classroom

Peter Ludovice

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Female doctor checks a woman's thyroid

A checklist for advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in medical sciences and education, part two

Three questions that medical sciences lecturers should ask when revising curricula to promote ethical considerations, an understanding of health inequities and diverse perspectives

Musarrat Maisha Reza, Mia-Rose Gillison

The University of Exeter

School girls take part in activities at the Digital Divas conference

What is needed to run a successful outreach programme?

Lessons on running a successful outreach programme designed to spark school pupils’ interest in university, based on a 13-year project focused on getting more girls studying STEM

Bia Hamed

Eastern Michigan University

A diverse group of medics sitting through a seminar

A checklist for advancing equity, diversity and inclusion in medical sciences and education, part one

Three questions that lecturers in medical sciences should ask when revising their curricula to promote diverse representation and health equity

Musarrat Maisha Reza, Mia-Rose Gillison

The University of Exeter

virtual mentoring

How mentor and mentee can help each other

Mentorship is a symbiotic relationship. Here, two scientists look at steps in the meeting process and benefits from both sides

Greta Faccio, Maria Koumouri

Independent academic, University of Cyprus

Statue of Isaac Newton

Inclusivity versus devotion to the cult of STEM

Is an underlying global STEM culture of devotion getting in the way of a more inclusive academy, asks Andrew Pye

Andrew Pye

The University of Exeter

high school student watching remote mathematics lecture on laptop

How to make dual-enrolment programmes work

Dual enrolment can create student pipelines from high school to university, meet community education needs and improve retention and graduation rates. Here, Laura Brown Simmons breaks down the essential elements

Laura Brown Simmons

Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities

Young doctor talking to a Black patient

Medical teaching resources need to represent all skin colours to enable doctors to serve a diverse population

Medical education must diversify its learning resources away from a focus solely on white patients to prepare students to diagnose and treat patients of all ethnicities, write Musarrat Maisha Reza and Naabil Khan

Musarrat Maisha Reza, Naabil Khan

The University of Exeter

A young Black female engineer looks up in a satellite manufacturing facility

What are the barriers to success for under-represented early career researchers in maths, physics, computer science and engineering?

Recommendations for improving equity, diversity and inclusion in maths, physics, computer science and engineering, based on research into the barriers faced by ECRs from under-represented groups in these disciplines

Lucy Yeomans, Daniela Fernandez, Lauren Stentiford

The University of Exeter

Group of chemistry students

Ways to improve the equitable inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in research and higher education

A summary of actions universities and research bodies should take to create truly equitable, inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ staff and students

Alfredo Carpineti, Matthew Young, Craig Poku

Pride in STEM, Nottingham Trent University

THE podcast graphic

Campus talks: when pop culture meets academia

Can superheroes teach us about physics? What can studying Kylie Minogue tell us about gender politics? Two academics talk about the intersection of popular culture and higher education

Michael Dennin, Liz Giuffre

University of California, Irvine, University of Technology Sydney

Magnifying glass over southern Africa on a globe

Why learning to listen will help you avoid ‘helicopter research’ and make you a better science communicator

A year of failed fieldwork in Africa led Sallie Burrough to ask questions about how researchers interact with the societies they work in. Here, she shares five tips for transparent, inclusive practices

Sallie Burrough

University of Oxford

Man speaking jargon to confused man and woman

Being elitist about sci-comms damages science

Scientists, if you communicate only with people at your own level of expertise, how will you recruit the best and brightest, engage the public and change the world? Kylie Ahern takes ‘dumbing down’ to task

Kylie Ahern

STEM Matters

A woman writing out equations on a glass screen

The House Cup: promoting qualitative grading in mathematics

Using qualitative instead of numerical grading in mathematics supports meaningful feedback that helps students improve the quality of their work, Jean-Baptiste Gramain explains

Jean-Baptiste Gramain

University of Aberdeen

Researchers discussing their work

What does a 21st-century research and science system look like?

Jim Metson explores what is needed from universities and government to create a transformative research, science and innovation sector in New Zealand

Jim Metson

The University of Auckland

A man doing calculations at his computer

A unique approach to designing robust, calculation-based online assessments

Designing open-book, online assessments for subjects relying on calculation poses a challenge to educators. Amit Navin Jinabhai presents a model he has successfully applied to minimise student collusion

Amit Navin Jinabhai

The University of Manchester

history of mathematics concept

Decolonising learning through access to primary sources

Mathematicians have always looked at old problems in new ways. A database of original sources will give university-level mathematics students a global, historical view of their subject

June Barrow-Green , Brigitte Stenhouse

The Open University

Electron microscope image

When to use online laboratories for STEM teaching and why

A guide to help STEM educators understand which aspects of practical laboratory learning can most effectively be delivered online and the benefits of this approach

Helen Lockett

The Open University

How to encourage women entrepreneurs at universities

How can we help academia produce more women entrepreneurs?

The key change required to help female academics found spin-out companies is rebalancing the gender diversity of the investment community, but universities have a part to play, too

Simonetta Manfredi

Oxford Brookes University

A virtual reality classroom

Teaching within virtual reality worlds: what, why and when

Gary Burnett offers five pointers on when and how teaching in virtual reality worlds can successfully enhance learning

Gary Burnett

University of Nottingham

Student in a role play simulation

Whole-task learning using real world simulations: a guide

A guide to creating and delivering a whole-task learning model using goal-based scenarios and hybrid simulation, by Michael Daly

Michael Daly

RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

A man building a machine on his desk

Home labs and simulations to spark curiosity and exploration

Francesco Fornetti explains how home lab kits and simulation tools can help spark curiosity and exploration among engineering students

Francesco Fornetti

The University of Bristol

Image of a DNA strand

Helping students see biology within a broader context

Should educators help students understand their chosen subjects within a broader context of learning? Mark Coleman has been experimenting with this in his biology course and shares his findings so far

Mark Coleman

The University of East Anglia

Image of a young black woman scientist

Address STEM inequality by reconceiving merit

The cultural yardsticks used to measure merit in STEM are warped with bias and often devalue women, people of colour and LGBTQ+ scientists with records equal to white heterosexual male peers. To fix STEM inequality, academia must reconceive merit

Mary Blair-Loy , Erin A. Cech

University of California San Diego , University of Michigan

Image showing data processing and analytics

Foundations to lay when teaching computational and data skills

Traditional teaching in data analysis focuses on statistics and visualisation but an emphasis on foundational data and computational skills is needed to prepare students to work with real data, explains Philip Leftwich

Philip Leftwich

The University of East Anglia

Running a diverse team is harder work but the rewards are immense

Running a diverse team is harder work – but the rewards are immense

John Womersley managed more than 50 nationalities on a €3 billion science project. Here, he reflects on the experience and gives tips on getting the most out of a diverse team

John Womersley

University of Oxford

Image showing researcher studying plants

Helping students tackle terminology barriers

Lots of new terminology can leave students feeling overwhelmed. Sonja Dunbar shares one way to build student confidence when encountering discipline-specific terms

Sonja Dunbar

University of Cambridge

Image depicting the study of bioscience

Creating a bioscience toolkit for first year students

Chinedu Agwu shares advice on supporting first-year students to develop the core skills and knowledge they need to succeed in a bioscience course

Chinedu Agwu

University of Hertfordshire

Gender equality

10 ways universities can tackle gender inequality

Ellie Bothwell outlines recommendations from THE’s recent report on how universities around the world are performing on gender equality

Ellie Bothwell

Times Higher Education

Make mathematics fun to learn

Make mathematics fun and easy to learn for university students

Make mathematics fun and engaging by creating a warm and welcoming class environment and applying lessons to real-life contexts, Pattama Sornkao explains

Pattama Sornkhao

Siam University

Advice on using online and blended learning tools to teach data science skills

Using online and blended learning tools to teach data science skills

Advice on teaching data science skills using online and blended learning tools and resources, by Philip Leftwich

Philip Leftwich

The University of East Anglia

University admissions policies could be hold back diversity efforts for students wanting to study STEM subjects

Are STEM admissions processes hindering our diversity efforts?

The requirement for potential STEM students to have studied traditionally related subjects such as maths and physics seems outdated and unnecessary, says Judy Raper

Judy Raper

TEDI-London

Steps institutions should take to encourage more mature female students to complete STEM courses

How to support women of all ages in post-secondary science education

Mature female students face barriers to success in STEM subjects, but steps can be taken to address this. Liette Vasseur explains what needs to be done

Liette Vasseur

Brock University

Advice on presenting live coding 'labs' as a series of short videos which take students through the problem step by step

Video makes the coding star: teaching problem-solving in bite-sized chunks online

Aidan McGowan explains how converting practical coding ‘labs’ into a series of short videos taking students through the problems step-by-step has improved learning outcomes

Aidan McGowan

Queen’s University Belfast

Universities can help encourage women into coding by reclaiming this mind-expanding skill from big tech

How do we get more women into coding? Fix how it’s taught and used

It’s time women said to the tech industry: ‘It’s not me, it’s you.’ And universities can help by not confusing the art of computer programming with rather dull ‘careers in coding’

Andy Farnell

Visiting professor