After much deliberation, the U.S. GLOBE Office, in consultation with event sponsors NASA and YLACES, has decided to cancel the 2021 Student Research Symposia.
After considering several options, including a virtual Student Research Symposia, we determined that an alternative event was not feasible. For the 2020-2021 academic year, we will be focusing on increasing the numbers and engagement level of the U.S. STEM professionals in the GLOBE International STEM Network (GISN). This will involve exploring collaboration tools, resources and promising practices on creating and maintaining high-quality student-scientist interactions; refining and updating the GISN database to better match students/teachers with STEM professionals from diverse backgrounds; and, creating or instituting systems for meeting management and relationship building to increase the accessibility of outreach activities.
These efforts will strengthen the number and quality of mentorship relationships between students and teachers and STEM professionals in the United States. The outcomes from this work will also benefit students who are in the process of carrying out research and writing reports for the 2021 International Virtual Science Symposium. This was a hard decision, but given the current circumstances in these uncertain times, focusing on making connections between students, teachers and STEM professionals will benefit the Student Research Symposia and their participants into the future. We see this as an opportunity to leverage the time we would have spent planning a one-year substitute event for a project that will yield long-term benefits.
