Following our community’s commitment to providing global insights for educators, we are thrilled to share the highlights from our most recent event. This month, our discussion aligned with the theme of Equity and Access in STEM, featuring two powerhouse leaders who have navigated the tech landscape across Nigeria and Brazil: Adaobi Agbaegbu and Giselle Santos.
Missed the live session? Watch the full webinar recording below to hear these inspiring stories firsthand.
Session Highlights: Equity and Access in STEM
1. The Journey: From "Accidental" Educators to Tech Pioneers
Both speakers reminded us that the path to STEM leadership is rarely a straight line, but curiosity and resilience are universal requirements.
- Adaobi’s Story: Despite her background in Telecommunications Engineering, Adaobi’s life pivoted when she moved an entire school online in Nigeria over a single weekend in 2020. This experience highlighted the massive digital divide, leading her to found her own company to expand access to Google Workspace across Africa.
- Giselle’s Story: Growing up in a military family, Giselle learned to be proactive to fit into new environments. After being told at age 40 she was "bad at technology," she didn't retreat; she became a Google Innovator and eventually a Head of Academic Innovation, proving that age is never a barrier to STEM excellence.
2. Redefining Mentorship and "Street Cred"
Mentorship shouldn't just be about training; it's about reorientation. Adaobi emphasized that to bring the next generation (Gen Z) into STEM, we must speak their language. We need to show them that being a "Tech Rockstar" in education is a high-impact career path that offers a powerful platform for global change.
3. Agency in the Global South
As we look toward a decade of AI-driven innovation, Giselle highlighted the concept of Agency. Technology must serve our humanity, not the other way around. For educators in the Global South, shifting the balance of power means making young people feel valuable enough to propose the next big ideas rather than just consuming existing tools.
4. Simple Tools for Complex Problems
The panel discussed how "basic" Google tools can solve massive problems:
- Google Meet: Adaobi described using Meet for "Teaching without Borders"—bringing experts from different countries into a classroom to make subjects like French or Biology come alive.
- Google Docs & Sheets: Giselle noted that these are the foundations of digital logic. Mastering organization and planning in Docs and Sheets is the first step toward understanding complex AI systems later in a student's journey.
Google Resources for Your Classroom
To help you bring the spirit of this webinar into your lessons, we have attached the following resources mentioned in the session:
