The Courtship between STEM & Entrepreneurship | Pt. 4 “I Do”

Marriage is a significant life journey bathed in commitment, wins, loses, celebrations and continuous planning towards the future. The fruit produced from a marriage reveals the types of seeds planted throughout the relationship, offers opportunity to remediate wrong turns and to assess why the partnership is important. So, what do we do after the “I Do?”

The marriage partnership between STEM and Entrepreneurship is more than just a good idea for both disciplines, it’s vital and crucial to advancing research and innovation beyond classroom projects. More directly, STEM Entrepreneurship curriculum produces the types of small businesses that positively impact BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). How? By fiscally supporting generations of families, improving under/unemployment, welcoming diversity of thought, encouraging more research of ethnic-based illnesses affecting black and brown populations and building housing in urban communities reinstating the pride of home ownership.

Let’s examine all above-listed benefits:

• Improving the U.S. Black-White wealth gap where on average, black households have only 14.5% of wealth than the average white households (https://www.americanprogress.org/article/eliminating-black-white-wealth-gap-generational-challenge/). Translation, the wealth gap between black and white families shows a $838,220 gap per household.

• Creating legacy STEM small businesses goaled at transferring wealth and intellectual property building generation wealth. Property, land, cash, investments and small businesses are transferable wealth assets.

• Employing BIPOC workers with family sustaining wages building communities with access to better options in education, housing and healthcare.

• Diversifying research teams supporting research of ethnic-based illnesses such as sickle cell, lupus, diabetes and certain cancers all plaguing black and brown communities at a higher rate than other populations.

The question is, what do we do after the “I Do?”

First stop; STEM Entrepreneurship education is required in all U.S.K-12 public schools. The push for more STEM graduates was accentuated by the White House during the Obama administration urging K-12 educators to excite young learners about STEM careers through creative classroom activities. In conjunction with that push is another layer of opportunity; the introduction to STEM Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which shows promise in the marketplace.

Next, higher institutions must, 1) Duplicate the efforts of several West Coast and Southern colleges and universities who’ve implemented accredited STEM Entrepreneurship curriculum and 2) Adopt HBCUs’ (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) STEM persistence models which have graduated 3 times the number of graduates as PWIs (Predominatly White Institutions).

Both recommendations will increase STEM diversity and the number of STEM small businesses, then the courtship between STEM and Entrepreneurship will produce a fruitful life partnership.

Let's further the discussion

The relationship between STEM and entrepreneurship is a powerful one. What are some of the unique ways STEM entrepreneurs have been making a positive impact on the world around you?

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