The transition from STEM to STEAM

Abstract

Over the last few decades the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has emphasized the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for the undergraduate engineering curricula. In the recent years, however, another component has been added to it, and that is, the Arts, thus transforming STEM to STEAM. The present paper addresses the positive aspects of adding arts to the STEM program, especially in engineering design as well as for engineering practitioners working on a global context. The arts, including literature, music and fine arts, improve our engineering 'reasoning'(left brain) by engaging the intelligence of our emotions (right brain), and hence add that extra touch to our engineering design that customers from different global cultures appreciate. Product design that engages emotions motivate customers to make the final purchase. For the engineers of today, understanding and appreciating another culture is not anymore a choice but a necessity. The slogan of the 1960s, 'think globally but act locally' is changed today to 'think globally and act globally'. The transition from STEM to STEAM can have that global impact by leveraging the arts as a way to communicate and connect globally.