Fast Company: While millions of kids play video games, few get a peek inside the detail-driven and frequently maddening process of creating games. But this summer, as educators puzzle over how to help students catch up on months of disrupted learning due to COVID-19, many are pushing to teach key STEM concepts via game design.

In pursuit of diversifying the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education system, academic and research institutions on Long Island have come together to support emerging STEM professors from underrepresented minority groups. The newly formed collaboration, called the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Predominately Undergraduate Institutions (PUI), includes Stony Brook University, Suffolk County Community College, Farmingdale State College, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Baltimore’s WEAA Hosts Anthony McCarthy and Cara Williams are joined by Dr. Willie May, Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Morgan State University and Doug Bender, Deputy CEO of Base 11, a nonprofit 501c3 STEM workforce and entrepreneur accelerator. Dr. May and Bender discuss the Parity Project which focuses on STEM education and share details regarding an upcoming virtual conference for STEM entrepreneurs.

Black scientist network celebrates successes — but calls for more support In the wake of global protests against racism, the Black in X movement emerged to celebrate Black scientists and fight systemic oppression in academia. STEM researchers rallied around social-media hashtags and attended online community events. They are celebrating all that they have accomplished with the movement now known collectively as Black in X — but also highlight the challenges they still face in fighting racism in science, including the need for more institutional support and funding.