For our 2024 Science and Engineering Program for Teachers, we will be opening the application process to a new cohort for an on campus event. If you have any questions about the program please reach out to sept@mit.edu.

More information about our program:

For one week each summer, teachers from around the world are meeting each other at MIT for the annual Science and Engineering Program for Teachers (SEPT)! 

Since 1989, over 2,000 middle and high school teachers have been selected to participate in SEPT - all recognized as innovative, creative, and dedicated leaders in their schools and communities.  Each year, SEPT teachers attend lectures from top scientists, try out the latest technology developed on campus, and talk shop with an outstanding group of passionate educators - professors, students, researchers, and teachers at sessions together all week long!

Check out these pages with materials from the presentations, tours, and hands-on workshops that took place at SEPT 2019.

SEPT Class of 2023. Thank you for joining us for our week long Professional Development back on campus!

Update September 2022:

Each summer, the SEPT program offers teachers a chance to participate in lectures from world leading scientists, try out the latest technology on campus, and get the chance to network with a like minded group of innovative educators for the week. Due to the continued impact of Covid, which led to restrictions on travel and limitations on campus access, the Science and Engineering Program for Teachers (SEPT) offered a remote conference, the past two summers (2020 and 2021). 

 We were thrilled to host the 33rd annual program in person on campus at MIT, as we have done for decades, in late June 2022 with the 36 teachers accepted in 2020. This group of teachers joined us virtually for a full program in 2020 and were invited back for a virtual reunion last summer. The reunion was filled with discussions of challenges from the past year and shared visions of the future, networking, games, and a session on design thinking. The power of having the group back in person really strengthened the relationships that were built during the online version of the program in 2020, and allowed the chance for new ones to develop organically during their time in Cambridge. Teachers shared experiences of different education systems that sparked many ideas that each of them took back to their home districts in the US and around the world.

This year's sessions included a mix of lectures delivered from MIT’s top lecturers (Keynote: Justin Reich and speakers, Eric Klopfer, Catherine Drennan, Hal Abelson, Dominic Farrello, David Des Marais, and Kerri Cahoy) and afternoon tracks titled, Use & Design of Games for Learning, Broadening Participation in STEM in the classroom and Epidemics, evolution, and economics: modeling complex systems with StarLogo Nova. We also had hands-on practical workshops with the Scheller Teacher Education Programs RAICA team. The Responsible AI for Computational Action (RAICA) curriculum consists of project-based learning modules that prepare middle school students to be informed consumers and ethical producers of AI. The cohort also had a behind the scenes look at the Boston Museum of Science where we had a private (after hours) tour of the Arctic Adventure and the Engineering Design Workshop exhibits. The group then had dinner at the museum along with an engineering design process session, where we engaged in a collaborative problem-solving challenge together with some basic materials.

It was excellent to have this group of teachers together on campus for SEPT this summer. We were back to the full experience of teachers staying in the dorms, eating around campus and getting the chance to explore MIT.  The benefits of 24x7 on campus interactions through this on campus event were so valuable, and we hope to run smaller events throughout the school year to check in on how our teachers are implementing skills and resources learned during their week at MIT in their classrooms.

What's next?

We are planning on opening applications in October for a new cohort of teachers to come to campus in 2023. Our goal is to get about 55 Middle and High School teachers from underrepresented areas with our collaboration and support from MIT Alumni Clubs from around the world. Working online for the last few years, with your support, has allowed us to follow up and keep in contact with the cohort throughout the year based on what we learned and made during that time online. Our Canvas (LMS) course and other online materials (shared through google docs) has allowed teachers to collaborate, post and access materials from the program and discuss their on-going projects throughout the school year. We are hoping to invite new cohorts on campus next summer supplemented with possible online/virtual sessions throughout  the year that could help with both new and existing cohorts and us supporting these teachers further than just the summer program. Our team will be meeting in September to discuss this year's application process and what we will be able to provide past and future  cohorts in terms of a virtual event for support and resource sharing. 

Quotes from teachers: 

“Superb program! Very powerful. All the speakers were excellent. The project showcase was very exciting. I like the mix of hands-on, lecture, and informal in-between moments. I like how each day the schedule was a little different. Connecting with other teachers was useful. I walked away with ready-to-go resources and lessons just from interacting with other instructors. Night at the Museum was very special and I learned a great deal from the museum designers and gained several ideas for broadening STEM/Engineering/Making. It was educational, fun, and really just felt like a special occasion. I plan to go back when I am in Boston. Modifications to the program may include more teacher curriculum examples/exercises. Maybe science/data on how we can improve Science, Math, and Engineering related scores. I also like the idea of deploying a tool and having check-in throughout the year to pilot various teaching tools. Leveraging what is unique about MIT and related resources and sharing with teachers where possible. MIT is really setting the bar high by connecting with teachers from across the country. Mary ran a perfect event and managed each element with expertise.”

“Thank you so much for everything. It was a real privilege to be part of such an inspiring programme that I will always remember.”

“It was a great experience, lots of new ideas and projects to do, kind colleagues, and the organization was fantastic!”