A new, multi-country survey by Lenovo of students around the world revealed that students in emerging countries – India, Mexico and Russia—are prioritizing and pursuing science-related careers over students in developed countries, including Canada, Japan, the U.K. The research presents some differences in how students around the world view science as a career aspiration. Some key findings:
- While 89 percent of students think science is “cool,” only slightly more than half are considering pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM).
- India ranked highest (82 percent) for those who believe it’s very important for their country to lead the world in science. In contrast, students in the US, UK and Canada and the UK trailed at 73, 60 and 55 percent, respectively.
- A majority of students (57 percent) would rather travel anywhere on Earth than the Moon if given the chance.
- The two most common reasons for hesitating to pursue a career in STEM—lack of confidence/ability to do well and too much work.
Lenovo (2011). 2011 Lenovo global student science & technology outlook. Quarry Bay, Hong Kong: Lenovo. http://news.lenovo.com/customer-stories/2011-lenovo-global-student-science-and-technology-outlook.tekdownload