Conference Agenda

Bootcamp STEM UC is a free intensive training initiative for K–12 teachers developed by the School of Engineering at the UC-Chile. The program takes place during school holidays and offers hands-on workshops on emerging topics in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), together with guidance for their pedagogical implementation in the classroom.

The initiative primarily targets teachers working in public or publicly funded schools, aiming to broaden access to STEM careers for students traditionally underrepresented in these fields. In Chile, access to selective programs such as engineering depends not only on academic performance but also on structural factors including cultural capital, geographic location, and family expectations. In this context, teachers play a key role in shaping students’ educational aspirations, particularly among women, migrants, rural students, and first-generation higher education students.

The Bootcamp strengthens teachers’ STEM knowledge, increases their pedagogical self-efficacy, and fosters direct connections with the university. These interactions encourage classroom innovation and help reduce perceptions of engineering and selective universities as distant or elitist spaces.

Since its first edition in 2022, with 55 participants, the program has grown steadily. By 2026, participation reached 162 teachers and expanded territorially to the Villarrica Campus in southern Chile. Considering that each teacher impacts an average of 100 students per year, the initiative indirectly reaches about 30,000 school students annually.

Bootcamp STEM UC aligns with the LACCEI K–12 challenge by working with teachers as multipliers of impact and establishing a scalable, sustainable, and replicable model of university-school collaboration in Latam.