The Future Scientist Mission
Teaching design methods to improve the long-term health and well-being of developing countries.
Started in 2009 by a group of engineers and scientists, Future Scientist is a 501c3 nonprofit organization devoted to using science education to enable resource poor communities to solve their own problems. Our guiding principle is that by providing education and design resources to communities who truly understand the problems they face, we can empower our partners to develop sustainable solutions. We work directly with schools, clinics, and other core community centers to apply design methods and accessible local resources to bring about lasting impact.
Our Approach
Future Scientist is developing a competition to empower high school students to positively impact their communities through innovative design and entrepreneurship. Working closely with the colegio in Portobelo, Panama, we saw that both the science and humanities students are essential for the success of projects. We are organizing a competition there to design solutions for problems the teams personally face, but it has a twist! Unlike a traditional design competition or science fair, we require each team to develop a plan to deploy their solution in one or more communities. This mix of science and entrepreneurship will not only solve problems, it will bring students with diverse interests together to solve problems for those around them. Future Scientist is committed to providing mentorship and entrepreneurial support for teams during the contest and additional continued support for the winning teams. Together with the student teams and their communities, we can design for impact and make a change