The UK SEF program was started in 2018, following wide consultations with representatives from UK Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the education department, academia, and educational experts.
Teacher recruitment and retention in STEM subjects esp. in government identified ‘cold spots’ (i.e. regions of low social mobility) was identified as a priority area, across various stakeholders
Following a detailed due diligence process, we initiated partnerships with two public research universities:
Kings College London (KCL): To develop and launch UK’s first Masters in STEM Education Program and offer up to 15 bursaries per year to in-service and early-career STEM teachers
Sheffield Hallam University (SHU): To develop and run Wipro STEM Teacher Fellowship and Wipro Teacher Mentor Program to improve the pedagogic and subject knowledge of STEM teachers and create a robust mentoring program in Sheffield and neighboring areas.
Both partnerships aim to address the UK-wide shortfall in filling STEM roles in school and the teacher shortage in STEM subjects; and have progressed well over the last 2.5 years.