Changing STEM to STEAM

While some have touted science, technology, engineering and math (often shortened to “STEM”) as the foundations for a high-achieving country, John Maeda believes that true innovation requires an additional letter—an “A” for art and design. Since becoming president of the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008, Maeda has championed a “STEM to STEAM” movement in education and research. He recently spoke with me about what he’s accomplished so far, what still lies ahead and why Apple is the best example of STEAM at work. Here are some of the highlights from our conversation.

How did you become interested in changing STEM to STEAM?

I always wondered why art and science were somehow [considered] different, and more recently here as president of RISD, I began to think about art and the relationship from art to all kinds of spaces: government, economics, industry. I noticed that people think innovation comes from the STEM space—at MIT, that’s how we used to feel, or at least how I felt there—but I also wondered about art and how that fits in. I’d be walking around RISD and I’d see so many examples of how a STEAM approach leads innovation. It seemed like turning STEM to STEAM made a lot of sense to talk about.