The Science & Technology Education Unit (STEU) is the schools’ public education arm of the Scientific Research Council, with a general mission to promote the interest, awareness and understanding of Science & Technology among our school population. Its activities are geared at: contributing to a higher number of students qualified and literate in Science & Technology, increasing the number of graduates entering careers in Science and Technology and to providing teachers with first-hand experience of industry examples of Science and Technology at work, which will improve their delivery in the classroom.

STEU, for the past three decades, has driven the country’s thrust of scientific awareness and application by building and strengthening capacities in the areas of Science, Technology and Innovation, specifically Science Education, as an enabler for poverty reduction, growth and socio-economic development. The launching of the Schools’ Science & Technology Societies (science clubs) in 1996 created the pathway by which students could engage in various activities such as The Science and Technology National essay, oratory, poster and performing arts competition, the Young Inventors/Innovators competition, the STEM Ambassadors program, STEM Virtual Experiment Series, Science Summer camps and the Conversations in Science Series. These activities seek to strengthen their understanding of science & technology in an informal yet stimulating manner. 

These programs are made possible through collaborative networks established across companies and the support of other stakeholders such as the European Union, Digicel Foundation, Food for the Poor Jamaica, American Friends of Jamaica and Caribbean Broilers. Their assistance led to the implementation of several capacity building projects such as the establishment of a bio-digester system and a piggery unit at the Carron Hall High School in St. Mary.