ignitestem
TRANSFORMING K-12 STEM EDUCATION
Our team disrupts traditional learning techniques and promotes hands-on project-based learning to activate students’ curiosity and creativity. We are evangelists of hackathons, makerspaces and design thinking as ways for students to deeply engage with otherwise mundane material, and fully aspire to help build the “science classroom of the future”.
DIRECTORS
CHRISTINA zhang
ece ‘26
“I joined E-Club to make new friends and get more involved in Princeton's entrepreneurship community. I've met so many passionate people who all have such diverse interests and want to make an impact. E-Club provides unique resources and opportunities to explore entrepreneurship and connect with others.”
Hi! I'm Christina, a sophomore from South Florida majoring in electrical and computer engineering and considering minors in statistics and machine learning and applied math. I'm really excited to be one of IgniteSTEM's co-directors this year and continue our mission of transforming K-12 education! Outside of E-Club, I'm also involved in Sinfonia, The Daily Princetonian's business team, and Princeton Racing Electric.
william yang
ece ‘25
“I first joined E-Club my freshman year because I had a passion for the interplay between entrepreneurship and education. I stayed in E-Club due to the camaraderie built within my subteam as we worked towards similar goals. Through the unique opportunities it provides, E-Club and its subteams are changing both Princeton and global communities for the better.”
Hi everyone! I’m William, and I’m an Electrical and Computer Engineering major from Dallas, Texas. This year, I’m excited to lead this subteam towards continuing our mission to transform K-12 STEM education! Outside of IgniteSTEM, I play on the Men’s Club Volleyball team, and I sing with the Nassoons and the Glee Club.
what we do
conference series
Through our signature (yet free) conference series, we strive to build a network of committed educators and student ambassadors across the world working together to transform how STEM is perceived and taught.
In the past, we have brought educators together in NYC, Princeton, Philadelphia and Stanford, and are currently expanding to other continental areas and potentially Hong Kong, London, Athens.
We have featured leaders at the cutting edge of the industry, including Jonathan Rochelle (creator of Google Drive), Mike Swift (Founder/CEO of Major League Hacking), Anant Agarwal (CEO of EdX) and Pat Yongpradit (CAO at Code.org).
We have distributed our Hack-in-a-Box takeaway offering to more than 1,000+ attendees in all of our conferences, providing valuable guidance and gear for them to get the ideas flowing in their very own hackathon
educational content
We're building an original intellectual node for educational thought by writing our own teacher workbook to improve design thinking at the high school level. We also test new methods in education through live and remote student ideation challenges. Our content roster is filled through assorted blog posts, educational conference giveaways and a monthly newsletter.
strive to innovate
Every year, IgniteSTEM reinvents itself in transformative new ways to deepen its impact in the classroom. In the past, we have gone from rewarding good practices in the classroom with minimal cash prizes to offering networking, stewardship and $8,000 in grants to four select visionary educators. We have gone from trying to organize EdChats to providing tailored experiences to teacher networks via spotlights and a newsletter. From offering printout Hackathon guides to examining partnerships with startups like Hack+ which would offer a complete-package deal.
Our work is invaluably supported by a strong sponsorships team that seek and utilize contacts throughout the non-profit and corporate world to raise tens of thousands of dollars every year, design experts that refine our brand as we tailor our mission and social media gurus that drive traffic to our outlets and help us expand to more teachers, more classrooms and more students.
