Movimiento STEM+ was born from a personal story. Our founder, Graciela Rojas, grew up believing STEM was not for her because she was a girl, despite excelling in math and science. Pressured to choose a “safe” career, she entered the corporate world in the tech sector. But she hadn’t found her purpose yet, so when she did, inspired by the educational and scientific legacy of Maria Montessori, she changed paths to ignite young minds through education.
In 2003, she founded “Profesor Chiflado”, an Edutainment company that reached over 2 million children annually. But that wasn’t enough. Graciela saw Mexico’s critical academic and opportunity gaps (especially for girls and women) where young talent lacks access to the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in a world full of technology shifts, societal challenges and environmental crisis. She knew she had to go further, and not alone, as real change requires a systemic approach that commits and mobilizes intersectoral actors to close opportunity gaps, empower girls, and build future-ready talent.
In 2017, she created Movimiento STEM+, a movement to foster an inclusive ecosystem where governments, schools, companies and civil society, among others, align to drive high-impact STEM Education with gender equity, sustainability and policy influence.
We believe STEM is not just about these areas of knowledge, but how they become the pillars for sustainable development and social well-being, building powerful agents of change.
We have a comprehensive intervention model designed to align programs, trigger dialogue at the highest level, foster strategic partnerships, and promote the quality of STEM Education around the world.
We focus on four key action areas designed to influence public policy and achieve high impact:
- Strategic Linkage
We trigger dialogue at the highest level to generate cross-sector alliances with key stakeholders to articulate, align, showcase and evaluate STEM+ Ecosystem projects and initiatives, transforming them into high-impact programs. To date, +600 allies.
- STEM Culture Development
We recognize and highlight STEM talent and strategically position the importance of STEM Education and its strategic axes on the public and social agenda. Our initiatives include awareness programs for educational communities by level; short format training like conferences, workshops, masterclasses; events such as STEM Forums, seminars and summits, and awards and celebrations
- Quality in STEM
We create standards and train teachers in vocational guidance and the STEM approach in the classroom, with gender perspective and the incorporation of technological tools. We also spearhead certification and educational policy efforts. To date, +160,000 educators
- Research
We generate relevant research with institutions, research centers and international organizations to strengthen the evidence base for STEM Education and its strategic axes, aiming to influence education policy. 20 publications
We understand that visibility is key to scaling systemic change. Movimiento STEM+ was designed as a collaborative ecosystem, not just a series of programs, so from the beginning, spreading our message, building partnerships, and engaging diverse audiences has been part of our DNA. Through a strong communication strategy, strategic alliances, and a commitment to intersectoral dialogue, our impact and reach have expanded rapidly across Latin America and beyond.
- Presence in more than 1,500 national events and 200 international forums on STEM Education.
- More than 1,300 press notes and more than 150 interviews.
- We have had direct collaboration with more than 800 initiatives in favor of STEM Education in the region
- More than 38 million people reached in Latin America through events and campaigns.
- Database with approximately 130,000 contacts:
- Teachers: 31.2%
- Youth: 27.3%
- Schools: 12.8%
- Other: 28.7%
More than 131,300 direct followers on social media:
- Facebook +37,000
- Instagram +7,000
- Linkedin +2,500
- You Tube +9,500
- Whatsapp: +75,000
- TikTok: +300
Our institution and our Founder have been recognised and awarded by different stakeholders, we are part of national and international influence groups and are a relevant voice in education.
Movimiento STEM+ has constantly evolved to respond to emerging challenges, scale our impact, and meet the diverse needs of the communities we serve. While our core mission remains the same, we have adapted our programs, strategies, and tools in key ways:
- We lead the STEM Education for Mexico Strategy to convene the most relevant voices in the country and build a shared national vision to advance this education.
- We were pioneers in using the “+” in STEM to emphasize its transdisciplinary nature. Societal and environmental challenges are complex, and STEM disciplines must collaborate with other areas of knowledge to solve them.
- We accelerated the digitalisation of our programs for their continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing accessibility and scalability.
- The pedagogical model for our teacher training, the STEM Instructional Framework, has been strengthened on different occasions regarding its gender perspective, alignment with national educational policy and compliance with international standards. It has official recognition from the Ministry of Education and is integrated into public training platforms.
- In collaboration with experts, we led the creation of the first STEM Education standard for teachers, enabling them to evaluate and certify their application of the approach.
We are now preparing to scale our work through a social franchise so our intervention model can happen for every country in the world.
We are always open to collaboration. Movimiento STEM+ works through alliances with schools, governments, companies, foundations, and international organizations and EduSTEM institutions to take our intervention model to where it is most needed. We co-design, adapt and implement our own programs and initiatives and those of our allies, to achieve remarkable results.
To work collaboratively, we first explore the needs and expectations for the alliance and the benefits we want to provide for a beneficiary population. Then we co-create a plan to deliver the services, materials, evaluation, support mechanisms and communication strategy necessary to implement the project.
Our innovation is designed to be adaptable and scalable. We offer opportunities to benefit educational communities, teachers, ministries of education and other stakeholders committed to populations of interest.
If you are a teacher, we can guide you to get your training process started, receive accompaniment and join the teacher network. If you are a youth, we can help you with vocational guidance and scholarships for higher education.
To start the conversation, you can contact us at info@movimientostem.org; you can also visit our website www.movimientostem.org or follow us on any social media as @MovimientoSTEM.
