Igniting the Spark

In today’s rapidly globalizing and digitizing world, children and adolescents need the skills to keep up with the demands of the 21^st century. Especially important for them to participate in today’s knowledge economy is a strong grasp of the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). However, in Lao PDR, the STEM approach is still uncharted territory for both teachers and students, especially adolescent girls. 

It is against this context that in Lao PDR’s old royal capital city of Luang Prabang, where tradition interweave with modernity, adolescent girls are reimagining what learning could mean for them. And for grade 10 student, Inthira Rasi, learning for her is not just something you do in the classroom – it is letting her own curiosity roam. 

Although still two more years away before graduating from secondary school, Inthira is already beginning to glimpse the journey upon which she will embark after she graduates. Already, she has begun cultivating an interest in engineering, drawn in by the mesmerizing and complex inner workings behind humanity’s most impressive feats: from inventions that changed the world, whether it’s those that gives use the energy to power our homes or those that enable us to talk with another person from the other side of the world to the world’s greatest architectural marvel. Indeed, Inthira’s cites Zaha Hadid, the world-famous architect, as her role model across all the STEM fields.

At first, Inthira did not know much about what engineering is but after taking part in the ‘Khaiy Panya STEM’ initiative, a two-day intensive bootcamp focused on building the STEM knowledge and skills of Lao adolescents, especially girls, she realised the many doors that await her on her journey, including the different branches of engineering that she could study. Out of all these branches, Inthira finds architectural engineering the most interesting and hopes to pursue further studies in this area abroad one day.

“If there are events like this more often or annually, I think it can really help me and many other adolescents to widen our horizons, especially during the time when we are discovering more about ourselves and develop the practical skills needed to pursue the careers we want,” shared Inthira.

The ‘Khaiy Panya STEM’ bootcamp in Luang Prabang was organised by the Ministry of Education and Sports, UNICEF Lao PDR and XMT through the support of Wemade. It engaged students through a wide variety of activities, from science experiments to discussions around the STEM topics, inspiring them to become the next generation of scientists, inventors and dreamers. In addition to the STEM subjects, participants also learned about digital literacy to help them navigate todays’ digital landscape safely and responsibly, including how to responsibly engage with online content and how to identify accurate information online.

The bootcamp in Luang Prabang was the first in the series of bootcamps planned in Lao PDR under the  ‘Khaiy Panya STEM’ initiative, with more bootcamps to follow soon in Savannakhet province and Vientiane Capital.