Safety Science Academies
Creating on-ramps into safety and sustainability science for high school to graduate students
The Institute for Research Experiences & Education’s work with postsecondary classrooms and communities focuses on access to opportunity by creating on-ramps into safety and sustainability science for students from high school to graduate school. When postsecondary students encounter the world of safety science for the first time as a high school student-intern, undergraduate engineer, or postdoctoral student, they’re uplifted and accompanied in their journey through our academies and pathways programs.
Our work across the higher education and career readiness continuum means students can explore the STEM opportunities available to them and feel supported and encouraged in those roles, no matter when their STEM journey begins — empowering them to persist in safety science careers.
Standards Academy
Our featured resource for colleges and universities, Standards Academy, was created in close collaboration with the standards experts at UL Standards & Engagement to support the next generation of early career professionals in understanding the value of safety standards to ensure a safer world.
58%
employers expecting new hires in engineering to have a knowledge of safety standards at the time of hire
Source: 2010 study by Harding and McPherson
15%
Standards professionals exposed to safety standards in college
Source: 2022 UL Standards & Engagement Next Generation Stakeholder Survey
While 58% of employers expected new hires in engineering to have a knowledge of safety standards at the time of hire, a ULSE survey reported only 15% of standards professionals were exposed to safety standards in college.
Standards Academy is designed for undergraduate students to learn more about what safety standards are, why they matter, and how standards are used to mitigate safety risks and hazards. Our postsecondary education team convened experts across standards development and engineering education industries to share their expertise and thought leadership as Standards Academy was created.
Through Standards Academy’s case studies, students will:
- Learn about safety standards and how to participate in the standards development process
- Grow their understanding of real-world hazards and risks addressed by safety standards through an interrupted case study approach
- Gain understanding of the standards development process, the role of UL Standards & Engagement’s technical committees, and see how consensus drives the outcome of a safety standard
- Have the opportunity to offer feedback to influence standards development
With this new knowledge of safety standards, students will be able to increase their efficacy of standards implementation in engineering design.
Standards Academy’s current case studies focus on the following themes:
- Sustainability
- Electrification
- Fire safety
- Mechanical safety
- Electrical safety
- Human and environmental health, and climate adaptation
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