A curriculum developed at the University of Iowa that teaches STEM concepts to high school students will be used during the Day of Design, a national STEM education program, held on Oct. 6.

Day of Design is an initiative of STEMconnector, a Washington, DC–based STEM advocacy organization that brings together leaders from business, higher education, and government. The event will be live-streamed from Washington, DC, and feature discussions, experiential learning sessions, and a live challenge that invites classrooms across the nation to join in virtually.

Leslie Flynn, a clinical professor in the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, will host the innovation challenge. Utilizing the STEM Innovator framework created at the UI, teams advance from idea generation to prototype formation to commercialization opportunities.

“Access to solving real-world challenges motivates students to continue studying in STEM fields, become more STEM literate, and create commercially viable solutions to problems while they are still in school,” Flynn says.

More than 300,000 student teams from 23 states are expected to participate in the program, including 47 school districts in Iowa. Teams will submit a video pitch of their solution to the problem by Jan. 15, 2018. Details may be found at dayofdesign.com.