The measures put in place by governments globally to limit the spread of COVID-19 will leave a variety of permanent marks on the current generation of school children across the world. History will document the negative disruption to education, including the attempts in many countries to replace classrooms with remote learning, the cancelation of exams and assessments and the use of flawed algorithms to calculate probable results in place of conventional exams. However, the pandemic has had other, arguably positive side effects on the perception of education, in particular STEM subjects.
The U.K. has had a challenging time trying to maintain education delivery alongside its pandemic countermeasures. However, widespread awareness and information about the pandemic and the role of science in producing a solution has boosted STEM perception and interest among secondary school children – both girls and boys. Such growth in interest levels comes at an important time not just for cybersecurity and its well-publicized skills shortage, but for the wider challenges of attracting and retaining talent across all areas of science and technology.
A recent survey of 1,000 U.K. children aged 11-17 has revealed that 48% are now interested in a STEM-based career after a year of seeing unprecedented media coverage of frontline workers in these fields in action. One in five are interested in a career as a doctor, with a similar number looking to work in vaccine development. Almost one in six want to be either a nurse, a pharmacist or a virologist.
A major catalyst for this has been the media. Some 83% have been learning about the pandemic by watching the news, while 71% also stated they have been asking their parents about the virus because they’re interested in it. U.K. rolling news networks have featured round-the-clock science-led coverage of the pandemic, while the U.K.’s main broadcast networks have cut away from regular programming on a daily basis to air press conferences featuring government ministers and scientists.
Previously unknown science figures in the country such as Chief Medical Adviser to the U.K. Government Chris Whitty and Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England Jonathan Van-Tam have become household names and are the basis for multiple memes. They are also considered even more recognizable to the 11-17 age group right now than the likes of footballer Harry Kane and singer Selena Gomez, according to the study carried out by research firm OnePoll.
Stimulating interest among schoolchildren in STEM subjects has been an ongoing challenge worldwide for decades. Undoubtedly, lack of engagement has impacted progress in the sciences. For all the negatives we have experienced because of COVID-19, there is a clear opportunity to support this surge in interest by delivering the educational resources needed to capitalize on it. Practical goals to set include getting more children into STEM subjects now, maintaining their interest through their higher and further education path choices, ultimately feeding more people into STEM subjects at university and supporting the STEM-based workforce.
One of the biggest takeaways from the experiences of the last year is that STEM can make a profound difference in the way we live. Not only in medicine, but also across the wider science and technology space. We have an opportunity to encourage and nurture a whole generation who are now aware of and excited by STEM. Not every child with an interest inj the sciences will be looking to become the next Chris Whitty. But this more informed perception of the opportunities created by STEM, brought about by his daily briefings, may encourage the next cybersecurity innovator and ensure that they are more accurately perceived and understood. In fact, we may have STEM to thank for the person who stops the next major ransomware attack, or the person that develops the next security strategy that changes the cybersecurity landscape forever.
To hear more about the importance of driving interest in STEM, and cybersecurity in particular, for the next generation of women, check out our recent International Women’s Day webinar playback here: https://www.isc2.org/en/News-and-Events/Webinars/ThinkTank?commid=470265