Baker Hughes kicked off its first STEM event for high-school students in the Houston area this past summer, inviting 22 students to visit its drill bit manufacturing facility in The Woodlands, Texas. The success of the program, and positive feedback throughout the industry, is propelling the company to expand its STEM program throughout the globe.
Image Caption: Twenty-two students participated in Baker Hughes’ first-ever STEM event.
Students and their parents were required to each submit an essay on why the student should be invited to participate in the event. Upon selection, they were sent invites by Shelly Cory, new technology business development manager, drill bits, and head of the STEM event. Cory said that this event has opened doors for expansion with educators and other com- panies within the industry.
During the event students toured the facility, attended presentations on what went on in the facility and what it would be like to work in the industry, and they also got the opportunity to interact with some of the company’s interns. “The real STEM connection was created during the sessions with the interns, which is the high school student’s next step in the future,” Cory said. “The students were the most comfortable in this setting, and felt a comfort zone to ask the real nagging questions they wanted answered about college life which is their next big decision before entry into our industry. The interaction was instantaneous and dynamic."
Mentorship opportunities have also arisen through the company’s efforts to recruit younger generations to the industry. Baker Hughes is in the developmental phase with its Bridging Mentorship Program, and is projecting to launch the program in 1Q 2014. The availability of the mentors selected is an important requirement to be truly successful and Cory explained how this may impact the effectiveness of the mentorships for both mentors and mentees.
“We consider the availability factor heavily as we select our mentors that will eventually become team leads, not only create but steer the development, accept the time commitment, and show the passion to become STEM program role models to future students,” Cory said. “We also need mentees to understand their role and make a commitment as well. Both of these elements are essential to the success of any STEM-student mentorship program.”
Initial expansion for the STEM event was internal, but after gaining avid support from the Baker Hughes leadership team and resource group, plans for expansion were underway. As the program continues to grow, Cory said that the company has already gotten started on branching out to other regions.
“After presenting the Baker Hughes STEM message at the Women’s Global Leadership Conference this past October, the networking web for future collaborations was triggered,” Cory said. “More than 10% of the attendees registered at this global conference requested the STEM toolkit, encouraged chances to learn more about STEM, and offered to volunteer their time for future STEM initiatives moving forward into 2014 and beyond.”
“Within the western hemisphere, we have stretched STEM from the United States to Canada,” Cory said. “More recently, we began the first expansion to the eastern hemisphere in Egypt and hope to leverage more opportunities through global conferences and networking. In all honestly, the STEM expansion has been contagious from one country to the next and has been a pleasure to watch it flourish while helping all types of students pursue STEM.”
As the demand for more professionals within the industry increases, the need for similar informational and recruiting programs like the one initiated at Baker Hughes flourishes as well. Individuals or companies interested in implementing their own STEM program have a wealth of resources to assist them in getting started. Shelly encourages anyone interested to obtain at STEM toolkit from Baker Hughes.
“The STEM toolkit is a tangible resource that can be used for any size STEM program that is in the first stages of being developed,” Cory said. To receive the toolkit, companies can send an email request to shelly. [email protected]. OE
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