While pursuing her PhD in Mechanical Engineering at MIT, Heather Beem met Amy Smith, founder of D-Lab—an innovation hub focused on international development. Through D-Lab, Heather fell in love with STEM education and indigenous innovation. She went on to co-found and co-instruct D-Lab: Education.
During a D-Lab trip to Ghana, Heather consistently heard one challenge:
“No lab, no equipment—how can we learn and teach science from a book?”
So, when she graduated in 2015, Heather didn’t take the typical path into corporate or academic research. Instead, she returned to Ghana and founded the Practical Education Network(PEN)—a nonprofit with the mission to enable every African child to learn by doing.
I love what Heather calls it: “Hands-on, Minds-up.”
Impact So Far
I asked Heather how she defines success – ‘Seeing tangible improvements in peoples’ life trajectories.’ In the past 11 years, Heather and the PEN team have trained over 8,700 K–12 STEM teachers to design and deliver engaging science lessons using locally available materials. Together, they’ve reached over 2 million students with hands-on learning.
The results?
- Student test scores have improved by 97%
- Students’ attitudes toward science improved by 141%
You can watch some stories and see the impact here.
3 Key Factors to Success
I asked Heather what she attributes her success to. She shared:
- Alignment of needs and solution
- Laser focus and persistence
- Local buy-in
Learning Ahead
Heather has been enjoyed reading Kevin Brown’s content and look forward to reading his book, Foundable & Findable.
What’s Next?
With a strong team now in place in Ghana, PEN is receiving requests to expand into Rwanda, Liberia, and Ivory Coast. Heather’s current challenges are:
- Strategic planning for expansion
- Securing funding
- Navigating cultural and language differences
How You Can Help
If Heather’s journey inspires you, here are 3 ways you can support the movement:
- Been there, done that?
If you’ve helped scale an education-focused nonprofit internationally, reach out to Heather to share your lessons and insights. - Know the local terrain?
If you live in—or have networks in—Rwanda, Liberia, or Ivory Coast, and are open to sharing your knowledge or connections, Heather would love to hear from you. - Believe in ‘Hands-on, Minds-up’?
Support Ignite the Spark of Learning—a campaign to gift a free copy of the PEN Hands-on STEM Resource Manual to teachers. You can also become a PEN Pal by giving one-time or monthly support.
References
According to Heather Beem, MIT D-Lab:: Fewer than 10% of Ghana’s 6,000 junior high schools have any lab equipment. Similar constraints exist in many of Africa’s 10 million schools. 80% of surveyed teachers cited lack of resources as a key barrier to engaging students.